What can a 7 1/4 rear take???

I have an open 2.76 ratio 7.25" behind my stock/tired 318/auto...and I was never kind to it but not outright abusive either It did eventually break in the middle of a power-brake on one of the local roads famous for having slippery pavement. Sure enough, the carrier cracked.

I had it repaired to get the car back on the road but I would have been smart to put the money towards a 8.25" (which I'm now searching high and low for).