1998 HONDA PRELUDE wheel size

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Airbags
Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint 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 byproviding 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 and
speed. 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 proper 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
SRS
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Tires

Tire Rotation
To help increase tire life and distribute wear more evenly, you
should have the tires rotated every
7,500 miles (12,000 km). Move the
tires to the positions shown in the
chart each time they are rotated. When shopping for replacement
tires, you may find that some tires are "directional." This means they
are designed to rotate only in one
direction. If you use directional
tires, they should be rotated only

front-to-back.

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 canseriously affect your vehicle's han-
dling.
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.
Front
Front
(For Non-directional
Tires and Wheels) (For Directional
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Tires

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. Wheels and Tires

Wheel:
16x61/2 JJ

Tire:

205/50R1687V

See Tire Information on page 256 for
additional information about tire and
wheel size designations. See page 257 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 winterdriving 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 snowyor icy conditions, you should installsnow tires or tire chains. They may
be required by local laws under certain conditions.
CONTINUED

Maintenance
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Tires

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.
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.
Make sure the chains are installed
tightly, and that they are not
contacting the brake lines orsuspension. 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 thevehicle.

Maintenance
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Compact Spare Tire

Your vehicle has a compact spare tire that takes up less space. Use thisspare 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. Replace
it 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 WEARINDICATOR
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Technical Information

The diagrams in this section give you the dimensions and capacities of
your Honda, and the locations of the identification numbers. The expla-
nations of several electronic and mechanical systems on your Honda
are for the more technically-oriented
owner. Identification Numbers................. 252
Specifications................................. 254
Tire Information............................ 256 Tire Size Designation................ 256
Wheel Size Designation............ 256
Tire Speed Ratings.................... 256 Tire Pressure Adjustment For High Speed Driving........ 257
DOT Tire Quality Grading....... 257 Treadwear.............................. 257
Traction.................................. 258
Temperature.......................... 258 Oxygenated Fuels.......................... 259
Driving in Foreign Countries....... 260
Emissions Controls........................ 261
The Clean Air Act...................... 261Crankcase Emissions Control System..................................... 261
Evaporative Emissions Control System..................................... 261
Exhaust Emissions Controls.... 262 PGM-FI System..................... 262
Ignition Timing ControlSystem................................. 262
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System.................... 262
Three Way Catalytic
Converter............................ 262

Replacement Parts..................... 262
Three Way Catalytic Converter... 263

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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)
205/50R16 87V
205 — Tire width in millimeters.
50 — Aspect ratio. The tire's section

height as a percentage of its width.

R — Tire construction code (Radial).
16 Rim diameter in inches.
87 — Load Index, a numerical code

associated with the maximum load
the tire can carry.
V — Speed Symbol. See the speed
rating chart in this section for
additional 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)

16
x 6-1/2 JJ

16 — Rim diameter in inches.
6-1/2 — Rim width in inches.
JJ — 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 Information
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