wheel size HONDA CIVIC COUPE 1998 Owners Manual

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Airbags

Your vehicle has a SupplementalRestraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a front seat passenger.
This system also includesan indicator light on the
instrument panel to alert you to a
possible problem with the system. Following are the most important
things you need to know about your

airbags.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
They supplement seat belts by providing extra protection for the
heads and chests of front seat

occupants.
Airbags offer no protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,or minor or moderate collisions.
Airbags are designed to deploy only during a severe frontal
collision (such as a 25 mph [40
km/h] crash into a parked car of similar size and weight). Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force andspeed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to adults and larger children who are
not wearing seat belts, are not wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are notsitting in a good position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or
dashboard.

Driver and Passenger Safety
SRSMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Tires
Replacing Tires and Wheels
The tires that came with your vehicle were selected to match the performance capabilities of the
vehicle while providing the best combination of handling, ride
comfort, and long life. You should
replace them with radial tires of thesame size, load range, speed rating,
and maximum cold tire pressure
rating (as shown on the tire's sidewall). Mixing radial and bias-ply
tires on your vehicle can reduce its
braking ability, traction, and steering
accuracy.
It is best to replace all four tires at
the same time. If that is not possible
or necessary, then replace the two
front tires or the two rear tires as a
pair. Replacing just one tire can seriously affect your vehicle's han-

dling.
The ABS works by comparing the
speed of the wheels. When replacing
tires, use the same size originally supplied with the vehicle. Tire size
and construction can affect wheel speed and may cause the system to
work inconsistently.
If you ever need to replace a wheel,
make sure the wheel's specifications
match those of the original wheel
that came on your vehicle. Re-
placement wheels are available at
your Honda dealer.

Maintenance

Installing improper tires on your
vehicle can affect handling and
stability. This can cause a crash in which you can be seriously
hurt or killed.

Always use the size and type of

tires recommended in this owner's manual.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Tires

Wheels and Tires

Wheels:
(U.S.: DX, EX, Canada: Si)14x5J
(U.S.: HX)
14x51/2 JJ

Tires:

P185/65R1485S

See Tire Information o
n page 235 for
additional information about tire and
wheel size designations. See page 231 for information about DOT Tire
Quality Grading.
Winter Driving

Tires that are marked "M + S" or
"All Season" on the sidewall have an
all-weather tread design. They should be suitable for most winter
driving conditions. Tires without
these markings are designed for optimum traction in dry conditions.
They may not provide adequate performance in winter driving.For the best performance in snowy
or icy conditions, you should installsnow tires or tire chains. They may
be required by local laws under certain conditions.
Snow Tires

If you mount snow tires on your
Honda, make sure they are radial
tires of the same size and load range as the original tires. Mount snow
tires on all four wheels to balance
your vehicle's handling in all weather conditions. Keep in mind the traction
provided by snow tires on dry roads may not be as high as your vehicle's
original equipment tires. You should
drive cautiously even when the roads
are clear. Check with the tire dealer
for maximum speed recommenda-
tions.

MaintenanceMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Tires

Tire Chains

Mount snow chains on your vehicle
when warranted by driving condi- tions or required by local laws. Makesure the chains are the correct size
for your tires. Install them only on
the front tires. If metal chains are
used, they must be SAE class "S".Cable type traction devices can also
be used.
When installing chains, follow the manufacturer's instructions and
mount them as tightly as you can.
Drive slowly with chains installed. If
you hear the chains contacting the body or chassis, stop and investigate
them. Make sure the chains areinstalled tightly, and that they are
not contacting the brake lines or
suspension. Remove the chains as
soon as you begin driving on cleared

roads.
Chains of the wrong size or that are
improperly installed can damage your
vehicle's brake lines, suspension, body,
and wheels. Stop driving if you hear the chains hitting any part of the

vehicles.

Maintenance

NOTICEMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Compact Spare Tire

Your vehicle has a compact spare tire that takes up less space. Use this spare tire as a temporary replace-
ment only. Get your regular tire
repaired or replaced and put back on
your vehicle as soon as you can.
Check the inflation pressure of the
compact spare tire every time you
check the other tires. It should be
inflated to:
60 psi (420 kPa , 4.2 kgf/cm2)
Follow these precautions whenever
you are using the compact spare tire:
Do not exceed 50 mph (80 km/h)
under any circumstances.
This tire gives a harsher ride and less traction on some road sur-
faces than the regular tire. Use
greater caution while driving on
this tire.

Do not mount snow chains on the
compact spare.
The wheel of the compact spare tire is designed especially to fit
your vehicle. Do not use your spare tire on another vehicle

unless it is the same make and

model.
The compact spare tire has a shorter
tread life than a regular tire. Replaceit when you can see the tread wear
indicator bars. The replacement should be the same size and design
tire, mounted on the same wheel.
The compact spare tire is not designed to be mounted on a regular
wheel, and the compact wheel is not designed for mounting a regular tire.
Taking Care of the Unexpected INDICATOR LOCATION MARK
TREAD WEAR INDICATOR BARMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Technical Information

The diagrams in this section give you the dimensions and capacities of
your Honda, and the locations of theidentification numbers. The expla-
nations of several electronic and
mechanical systems on your Hondaare for the more technically-oriented
owner. Identification Numbers................. 230
Specifications................................. 232
Tire Information............................ 235 Tire Size Designation................ 235
Wheel Size Designation............ 235
Tire Speed Ratings.................... 235
Tire Pressure Adjustment For High Speed Driving............... 236
DOT Tire Quality Grading....... 236 Treadwear.............................. 236Traction.................................. 237
Temperature.......................... 237
Oxygenated Fuels.......................... 238
Driving In Foreign Countries....... 239 Emissions Controls........................ 240
The Clean Air Act...................... 240Crankcase Emissions Control
System.....................................240

Evaporative Emissions Control
System.....................................240

Exhaust Emissions Controls.... 241 PGM-FI System..................... 241
Ignition Timing Control System................................. 241
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System.................... 241
Three Way Catalytic Converter............................ 241
Replacement Parts..................... 241
Three Way Catalytic Converter... 242

Technical InformationMain Menu s t

Tire Information

Tire Size Designation

A tire's sidewall is marked with a tire size designation. You will need this
information when selecting replace-
ment tires for your vehicle. The
following explains what the letters and numbers in the tire size
designation mean.
(Example tire size designation)
P185/65R14 85S
P — Applicable vehicle type (tires
marked with the prefix "P" are
intended for use on passenger
vehicles; however, not all tires have this marking).
185 — Tire width in millimeters.
65 — Aspect ratio. The tire's section
height as a percentage of its width.
R — Tire construction code (Radial).
14 — Rim diameter in inches. 85 — Load Index, a numerical code
associated with the maximum load
the tire can carry.
S — Speed Symbol. See the speed
rating chart in this section foradditional information.
Wheel Size Designation
Wheels are also marked with important information that you need
if you ever have to replace one. The
following explains what the letters and numbers in the wheel size
designation mean.
(Example wheel size designation)
14 x 5J

14 — Ri
m diameter in inches.
5 — Rim width in inches.
J — Rim contour designation. Tire Speed Ratings
The chart below shows many of the
different speed ratings currently
being used for passenger vehicle
tires. The speed symbol is part of the
tire size designation on the sidewall of the tire. This symbol corresponds
to that tire's designed maximum safe

operating speed.

Technical InformationMain Menu Table of Contents s t