Cold start throttle response

Hello All,

Among the various little annoyances I have been diagnosing, one concern is the cold start performance of the car.

Behavior:
- Cold engine (overnight), start and drive the car.
- Throttle response is very slow.
- holding steady throttle (I.e. 20%), the car will not have a steady acceleration (surging).
- EXCEPTION to these symptoms is if I pass ~3250RPM.
- As the engine warms up, the behavior goes away.

Analysis:
Have a look at this log, I know its missing the actual Y-Axis values, but pay attention to the relationship between Accelerator pedal (APP) and ignition advance.
- Throttle is steady at ~20% +/- 1%
- At ~3250RPM, the ignition timing jumps from ~6-7° to 30°+.
- Coolant temperature is cold (~20C)



Ignition advance would definitely cause this behavior, and I am trying to understand how I can eliminate it.

This could be intentional behavior for emissions purposes, but the drivability is unacceptable.

I imagine VTCS delete has a lot to do with this, but I would like to hear some ideas.

Comparing ignition tables to "Stock" they are identical for the most part, but I cannot find any direct logic that would bring ignition timing to ~6-7°. Unless I am missing something, these would be tables not modifiable by AP.

Log is attached, but it is rather large to catch both cold and hot behavior.

Thanks in advance!