(Fixed) Misfire / Splutter / Strangled

My 197 is playing up at specific conditions.

* Pulling away, I need to add a lot more revs to pull away, or it feels like fuel cut / splutter / misfire, then when it passes that rev range it is fine again
* If let's say you are in third gear and revs drop down to 1.8k and you put more then 30% throttle it feels again strangled and jerks but then when goes past let's say 2.5-2.7k it's back to normal (PS it is not a flatspot, as I had a Milltek when I bought the car, I know what flat spot feels like and this is different, I now have a standard exhaust on again)
* Same scenario as above, if you stay at a constant lower throttle % like say 10-20 it doesn't jerk or anything, only over that throttle %
* Up the rev range it is fine, like literally nothing at all

Extra note, I went to gym Sunday and the country road I take had a water build up (like a ford) it wasn't crazy deep, like went to centre cap, and I did not fly through it, went slow and steady like i've always done. So either a massive coincidence or related!

I am going to check all connectors tonight and spray with electrical contact cleaner / check the spark plugs haven't got any water in them.

Could it be VVT related? Maybe camshaft sensor or something similar? It doesn't fail to start, starts bang on the button, and apart from the ranges where it drives crap it drives fine....

Thanks in advance

I just went out at lunch and quickly pulled out all the coils to check any water, nothing, bone dry, looked at air filter, again bone dry.

Also I got the RPM wrong, it is anything 1000-2000rpm, then when above that it is fine....

Yeah I was going to plot voltage of Lambda sensors on the way home / to gym, but I thought the 2nd lambda only checks that the cat is working efficiently? I thought the first sensor is the more critical one?

I'm going to whip out all the spark plugs when I get home and check they are ok.

Problem fixed!

Pulled out all the sparks, cylinder 1 (near gearbox) spark looked like this:



Water got into that cylinder, must have been a small amount as no trace, I had a spare from when I changed it earlier than they're meant to be changed, also had spare coil pack, swapped both over working great.

Ordered a new spark (as not been on long) and new coil.