Hi Guys!
Fortunately my S3 has been running quite well, I mean at least as far as lack of major issues goes haha.
The main point of this thread is to get the S3 Running as best as possible as the longer I spend with this car the more I realize how tiny issues either
A. Lead to bigger issues
or B. Cause the car to run in a way unbefitting of its glorious stylings
of course some tiny issues are just that, tiny
but ideally a pristine example of an S3 with some modern touch ups would be the goal!
I think the first thing that needs to be addressed is the idle, before adjustment my parking idle was over 1000, my understanding is that the ideal idle speed is 800, the other day i fully closed the idle valve and turned it roughly 90 degrees and got just around 800, when i took it for a drive immediately i noticed the "Clunk" that would happen usually when going from park to another gear was pretty much gone, Pulling off from a stop was smoother and didnt require such a heavy foot to get it going, increase in speed felt more in line with how much i pushed on the pedal and not so much like it was only doing a little until i pushed past about 75%, its worth mentioning this was directly after a gas refill in which i put some Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner just to make sure my fuel injectors were spraying ok, Now for the issue, once getting home i went to start the car again and it sputtered out and died in a few seconds when i started it again i lightly touched the gas to get the idle up a bit and it was running fine, the next da i turned up the idle to make sure it didnt sputter out but the "Clunk" Returned, any ideas how to keep my idle in the sweet spot without it dropping off later on?

 

One thing you might want to check if you have not done so is to make sure the throttle body and butterfly are clean of any carbon or gunk. Carb spray and a clean cloth works fine on this. Then check the butterfly gap which should be set at .002". Also check any of the rubber bellows for tears or leaks. If they are cracking replace them. Can't get a steady idle if these areas need attention. This is a good place to start before you go down the rabbit hole. Good luck :-)