Andy,
I beg to differ that we differ
Just watched a dyno run to double check this. The beloved Chieftan engine no less, and at cruise power variation was anywhere from 0-1 degree on any cylinder. At Idle / warm up it was typically double that.
So we are in extreme agreement.
And this is normal. The average is also several degrees different to the static timing mark. This is the concept that yr right was struggling with I think.
And as Creamie has pointed out this is consistent with what the manufacturer designed it for.
We are all on the same page