esc motor limit
 

im currently running a sp cirtix stock esc with a motor limit of 9.5t.
what effect would running an 8.5t turn have on the esc?

Likelihood of blowing the ESC up. You might get away with it, might not.

the limit is there for a reason and i try to stay atleast 2t above it for offroad and 1t above on road

dont do it, for me a 9.5 limit would mean 10.5 on road and a 11.5 off road, if your super smooth then you may get lucky and be able to run closer to the limit but it's more likely to just thermal