Re: Emissions testing

[Will Owen <nashwill912@domain.elided>]

AJ in NJ said:

"I filled the tank with Amoco 93 octane and drove my Spider for over an hour before heading over to the DMV.  During the drive I did an Italian tune-up.  As planned, the Spider ran cleaner and hotter through the emissions test and passed."

I ran into some difficulties getting the Milano through testing last July. California's testing is done by certified shops, rather than by any state agencies, and I had a coupon that was good at a popular shop near my neighborhood. As AJ did, I ran the car for several miles on the freeway, then at relatively high RPMs over to the shop...but when I got there I found I had four or five cars in front of me, and in order to get into the queue I had to surrender the keys! Of course the engine was dead cold by the time it was tested, and it flunked badly. When I told the guy what Bill at Alfa Only had told me, that these things needed to be tested hot, he gave me a free retest pass and told me to come back at 7:30 on
Tuesday morning, which is usually their slow day. But when I showed up on schedule there were two others there already. What's worse, their connection to the state's computer system was down! The shop manager took pity on me and told me to "go for a little drive, about half an hour," and he'd save my spot. I did, he did, and when I returned I was flagged into one of the test bays, where we aced the test. Big sigh of relief, at least until July 2004.

So by going to a very popular shop and using their coupon, I paid around half of what such a test usually costs, but I had to go twice. I think I'll skip the budget joints next time...

Will Owen
Pasadena, CA
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