2000 HONDA S2000 Owners Manual

DOT Tire Quality Grading (U.S. Vehicles)
The tires on your vehicle meet all
U.S. Federal Safety Requirements.
All tires are also graded for
treadwear, traction, and temperature
performance according to
Department of Transportation
(DOT) standards. The following
explains these gradings.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where
applicable on the tire sidewall
between the tread shoulder and the
maximum section width. For
example: Treadwear
200
TractionAA
Temperature A
246 Technical Information
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a compara­
tive rating based on the wear rate of
the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified government
test course. For example, a tire
graded
150 would wear one and one
half (1-1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded
100. The relative performance of
tires depends upon
the actual condi­
tions of their use, however, and may
depart significantly from the norm
due to variations
in driving habits,
service practices, and differences in
road characteristics and climate. Traction
The traction
grades, from highest to
lowest, are
AA, A, B, and C. Those
grades represent the tire's ability to
stop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on
specified government
test surfaces
of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction
performance.
Warning:
The traction grade
assigned to this tire
is based on
straight-ahead braking traction tests,
and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.

Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the
highest),
B, and C, representing the
tire's resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified indoor
laboratory test wheel. Sustained high
temperature can cause the material
of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature
can lead to sudden tire failure.
The
grade C corresponds to a level of
performance which all passenger car
tires must meet under the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No.
109. Grades B and A represent
higher levels of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the
minimum required by
law.
DOT Tire Quality Grading (U.S. Vehicles)
Warning: The temperature grade for
this tire is established for a tire that
is properly inflated and not over­
loaded. Excessive speed, underinfla­
tion, or excessive loading either
separately or
in combination, can
cause heat build-up and possible tire
failure.
Technical Information 247

Oxygenated Fuels
Some conventional gasolines are
being blended with alcohol
or an
ether compound. These gasolines
are collectively referred to as
oxygenated fuels.
To meet clean air
standards, some areas of the United
States and
Canada use oxygenated
fuels to help reduce emissions.
If you use an oxygenated fuel, be
sure it is unleaded and meets the
minimum octane rating requirement.
Before using an oxygenated fuel, try
to confirm the fuel's contents. Some
states/provinces require this
information to be posted on the
pump.
248 Technical Information
The following are the U.S. EPA and
Canadian CGSB approved
percentages of oxygenates:
EfHANOL (ethyl or grain alcohol)
You may use gasoline containing up
to
10 percent ethanol by volume.
Gasoline containing ethanol may be
marketed under
the name "Gasohol."
MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl
Ether)
You may use gasoline containing up
to
15 percent MTBE by volume.
MEfHANOL (methyl or wood
alcohol)
You may use gasoline containing up
to 5 percent methanol by volume as
long as it also contains cosolvents
and corrosion inhibitors to protect
the fuel system. Gasoline containing
more than 5 percent methanol by
volume may cause starting
and/ or
performance problems.
It may also
damage metal, rubber and plastic
parts of your fuel system.
If you notice any undesirable
operating symptoms, try another
service station or switch to another
brand
of gasoline.
Fuel system damage
or performance
problems resulting from
the use of
an oxygenated fuel containing more
than the percentages of oxygenates
given above are not covered under
warranty.

If you are planning to take your
Honda outside the
U.S. or Canada,
contact the tourist bureaus in the
areas you
will be traveling in to find
out about the availability of unleaded
gasoline with the proper octane
rating.
If unleaded gasoline is not available,
be aware
that using leaded gasoline
in your Honda will affect perfor­
mance and fuel mileage, and damage
its emissions controls.
It will no
longer comply with
U.S. and
Canadian emissions regulations, and
will be illegal to operate in North
America.
To bring your car back into
compliance will require
the replace­
ment of several components, such as
the oxygen sensors and the three
way catalytic converter.
These re­
placements are not covered under
warranty.
Driving in Foreign Countries
Technical Information 249

Emissions Controls
The burning of gasoline in your car's
engine produces several byproducts.
Some
of these are carbon monoxide
(CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and
hydrocarbons (HC). Gasoline
evaporating from the tank also
produces hydrocarbons. Controlling
the production of
NOx, CO, and HC
is important to the environment.
Under certain conditions of sunlight
and climate,
NOx and HC react to
form photochemical
"smog." Carbon
monoxide does not contribute to
smog creation, but it
is a poisonous
gas.
250 Technical Information
The Clean Air Act
The United States Clean Air Act*
sets standards for automobile
emissions.
It also requires that
automobile manufacturers explain to
owners how their emissions controls
work and what to
do to maintain
them. This section summarizes how
the emissions controls work.
Scheduled maintenance is on page
148.
* In Canada, Honda vehicles comply
with the
Canadian Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards
(CMVSS) for
Emissions valid at the time they are
manufactured.
Crankcase Emissions Control
System
Your car has a Positive Crankcase
Ventilation System. This keeps
gasses that build up in
the engine's
crankcase from going into the
atmosphere.
The Positive Crankcase
Ventilation valve routes them from the
crankcase back to the intake
manifold.
They are then drawn into
the engine and burned.
Evaporative Emissions Control
System
As gasoline evaporates in the fuel
tank, an evaporative emissions
control canister filled with charcoal
adsorbs the vapor.
It is stored in this
canister while the engine is
off. After
the engine is started and warmed up,
the vapor is drawn into the engine
and burned during driving.

Exhaust Emissions Controls
The exhaust emissions controls
include four systems:
PGM-FI,
Ignition Timing Control, Secondary
Air Injection System and
Three Way
Catalytic Converter. These four
systems work together to control the
engine's combustion and minimize
the amount of
HC, CO, and NOx that
comes out the tailpipe.
The exhaust
emissions control systems are
separate from the crankcase and
evaporative emissions control
systems.
PGM-FI System
The PGM-FI System uses sequential
multiport fuel injection.
It has three subsystems: Air Intake,
Engine
Control, and Fuel Control.
The Engine Control Module (ECM)
uses various sensors to determine
how much air is going into the
engine.
It then controls how much
fuel to inject under all operating
conditions.
Ignition Timing Control System
This system constantly adjusts the
ignition timing, reducing the amount
of
HC, CO and NOx produced.
Secondazy Air Injection System
During engine warm-up, air is
pumped into the exhaust to reduce
emissions when
the engine is cold.
Three Way Catalytic Converter
The three way catalytic converter is
in the exhaust system. Through
chemical reactions, it converts
HC,
CO, and NOx in the engine's exhaust
to carbon dioxide
(COz), dinitrogen
(Nz), and water vapor.
Emissions Controls
Replacement Parts
The emissions control systems are
designed and certified to work
to­
gether in reducing emissions to
levels that comply with the
Clean Air
Act. To make sure the emissions
remain
low, you should use only new
Genuine Honda replacement parts or
their equivalent for repairs. Using
lower quality parts may increase the
emissions from your car.
The emissions control systems are
covered by warranties separate from
the rest of your car. Read your
warranty manual for more informa­
tion.
Technical Information 251

Three Way Catalytic Converter
The three way catalytic converter
contains precious metals
that serve
as catalysts, promoting chemical
reactions to convert the exhaust
gasses without affecting the metals.
The catalytic converter is referred to
as a three-way catalyst, since it acts
on
HC, CO, and NOx. A replacement
unit must be an original Honda part
or its equivalent.
The three way catalytic converter
must operate at a high temperature
for the chemical reactions to take
place.
It can set on fire any com­
bustible materials that come near
it.
Park your car away from high grass,
dry leaves, or other flammables.
252 Technical Information
A defective three way catalytic
converter contributes to air pollution,
and can impair your engine's per­
formance. Follow these guidelines to
protect your car's
three way catalytic
converter.
• Always use unleaded gasoline.
Even a small amount of leaded
gasoline can contaminate the
catalyst metals, making the three
way catalytic converter ineffective.
• Keep the engine tuned-up.
• Have your car diagnosed and
repaired
if it is misfiring, back­
firing, stalling, or otherwise not
running properly.

Warranty and Customer Relations
Customer Relations
Information ................................. 254
U.S. Zone Office Map .................... 255
Canada Zone Office Map .............. 256
Warranty Coverages ..................... 257
Reporting Safety Defects
(U.S. Vehicles) ........................... 258
Authorized Manuals ...................... 259
Warranty and Customer Relations 253