Kweasel you'd know right away if you dropped a cylinder on a Saito 1.70, the power drops dramatically. I use a "home made" glow system on mine and it will sometimes start on two cylinders. The difference in RPM is dramatic without one cylinder firing. Once it's lit though, it virtually never drops a cylinder. Mine runs great. It did take a good while to break in properly and during that time would drop cylinders. Once it's got a good hour or so on it, and all cylinders firing and warmed up, its a tremendous engine.