Mental process be damned, all 96-00 manuals specifically state 12* for d16's auto & manual, and 16* for b16. They didn't mis-print it twice in each manual from each publisher. Even if the cam is off 20* - if you can adjust it back, 12* on the crank pulley is 12*.
Regardless, you can't use ignition timing to make up for an advanced or retarded cam. Miscut keyway, yes, but it's going to run a whole lot different with the cam lobes all 4* off. And if it hasn't been taken into account, the cam gear keyway will be 4* off on the y8 aanyways, as it's gear is half a tooth off VS 88-95 gears.
When you think about how retarded it would be to re-design the cam gear & change the timing maps rather then have them tell the pre-production to change the keyway spot, it would not make sense to just set the entire timing map a few degrees back. I can't prove the way the knock sensor changes timing in a p2p, and quite frankly nor can you JD - not with the hard evidence you ask others to provide in these situations. If you can, I'd really like to know.