[s-cars] Failing the e-test?

[Rich Assarabowski]

I brought my '92 S4 in early December to the newly resurrected emissions
testing in CT (now done at private service facilities instead of
state-owned).  I passed on CO but failed on HC at idle (400+ ppm).  The
car was warmed up when I went it but not really hot, it also sat for
about 20 minutes with the engine off before it went in.  I had been
running on 89 octane recently (car is unchipped) with no pinging, mostly
highway light-throttle driving.  The mechanic suggested I switch to 93
octane and get the car checked at an Audi stealer (yeah, right!).  

I went back in for a retest about a month later and passed with flying
colors, HC was 17 ppm and CO was only 0.01%!  The mechanic was amazed.

Here's what I did:

1.  Ran down tank and filled with 93 octane
2.  Ran a can of Techron through the gas tank, then back to untreated 93
octane
3   Put in a can of dry gas (isporopyl alcohol) for one tankful to
remove any moisture
3.  Put in a can of 104+ Octane Boost to the 93 octane 2-3 days before
the test 
4.  Cleaned the plugs and retorqued (they looked good, were not loose)
5.  Checked for any vacuum leaks (found none) 
6.  Checked for any fault codes (found none) 
7.  Changed engine oil the same day of the test (important) 
8.  Took the car for a 1/2 hour ride at high rpm, got the oil
temperature nice and hot just before I arrived there 
9.  Kept the car idling when I arrived, mechanic took me in about 5
minutes later -- success!

-- Rich
   92 & 93 S4