The most accurate way to measure the lift is to take out the valve adjusters and use a length of old hollow car aerial or similar cut to length between the pushrod and the dial guage.All excellent stuff, thank for the rapid replies.
So, you zero the DTIs at TDC on the compression stroke, then rotate the crank roughly 176° to where both valves show the same lift? If that is the case, both DTIs will show +0.120" as both have opened - would they not?
It certainly is worth always trying to do your adjustments with the engine in forward stress and certainly 4 degrees BTDC can be 6 or 2 and I doubt that anyone could divine the differenceAnd the whole shit in this is the backlash on gears.
As the other cylinder is also in mesh.
Best do it with only the inner valve springs mounted