Aero1900
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Phearable Stage 2 ECU tune review
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting John Vega and having him load the Phearable Stage 2 tune with the multi tune option on my FL5 Type R.
I have had a few tuned cars in the past, mostly VW GTIs. Coming to the Type R I was disappointed to find out that the ECU needed to be unlocked in order to get a tune. I almost attended a Hondata "jailbreak" event but the timing didn't work out for me. I'm very lucky to have found out that I live very near John with Phearable and was able to have the unlock and tune done locally (Tampa, FL)
I chose to do the 91 octane tune even though I have access to 93 octane. I did this to be more conservative as I will be tracking my car a lot. If I was just going to do the occasional highway pull and spirited driving I would have done the 93 octane tune as it makes a bit more power. When you do a 20 minute track session you are beating on the car and creating way more heat that a single highway pull. For this reason I went with the slightly more conservative option. That being said, it still creates a lot more power than the Hondata tune.
The multi tune option allows you to quickly and easily cycle between tunes using the cruise control. Couldn't be easier.
Upon first start up, the car started and idled perfectly. Encouraging right off the bat.
I could tell the car was running differently without even getting hard on the gas. Leisurely crusing through my neighborhood I could tell the engine ran differently by just applying 1/4 throttle at 2500rpm. The throttle response, boost and it must be the engine timing gave the car an obvious edge over how it was before.
After a few full throttle pulls up near redline, the extra power is obvious. The turbo seems to spool faster and harder. The power across the rev range was substantial and it pulled hard and smooth all the way to redline. Instantly satisfied.
It's hard to describe how much more power it has but it's clear that it's tuned and making more. I had some tuned VWs back when I lived in Colorado. Because of the high elevation the tunes didn't make as much power. The Phearable tune at sea level is different. There's absolutely no question the car is making significantly more power. The best way I can describe it is to say that it's almost like a class of car above where it was. Think Civic Si > Type R or Eco Boost > Mustang GT. It's not quite that much, but its close. The Si makes 100 less HP than the Type R. The Phearable tune added 75 HP (91 octane version). It feels it.
I did the optional exhaust pops/ crackle tune. You can choose between no crackle, Integra Type S crackle or a more aggressive option. I chose the one that mimics the ITS crackle. It works great but it's fairly quiet. I'm happy I picked what I did as it could get old if you picked the aggressive one and got tired of it. Maybe, maybe not. Definitely personal preference. But I think it really adds to the fun of the car. I would highly recommend doing one of the options.
I expected the car to feel faster on a wide open throttle rip to redline but in didn't expect it to feel stronger at part throttle at lower rpm but it does. It feels like a bigger motor. If you've driven a V8 Mustang you know the feeling of more low end torque. This has that kind of feel. It's more satisfying than I expected it to be. The other thing I noticed is the car did seem to be a little louder than before. To the point the I asked John if the tune opens the exhaust valve all the time. He said it doesn't and it still operates as factory.
If you are on the fence or wondering if it's worth it, I would definitely say it is. 75 hp is significant. You can do an intake, downpipe, turbo inlet and get maybe 5 to 10hp. This is not that. For $1000 this truly changed the car.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting John Vega and having him load the Phearable Stage 2 tune with the multi tune option on my FL5 Type R.
I have had a few tuned cars in the past, mostly VW GTIs. Coming to the Type R I was disappointed to find out that the ECU needed to be unlocked in order to get a tune. I almost attended a Hondata "jailbreak" event but the timing didn't work out for me. I'm very lucky to have found out that I live very near John with Phearable and was able to have the unlock and tune done locally (Tampa, FL)
I chose to do the 91 octane tune even though I have access to 93 octane. I did this to be more conservative as I will be tracking my car a lot. If I was just going to do the occasional highway pull and spirited driving I would have done the 93 octane tune as it makes a bit more power. When you do a 20 minute track session you are beating on the car and creating way more heat that a single highway pull. For this reason I went with the slightly more conservative option. That being said, it still creates a lot more power than the Hondata tune.
The multi tune option allows you to quickly and easily cycle between tunes using the cruise control. Couldn't be easier.
Upon first start up, the car started and idled perfectly. Encouraging right off the bat.
I could tell the car was running differently without even getting hard on the gas. Leisurely crusing through my neighborhood I could tell the engine ran differently by just applying 1/4 throttle at 2500rpm. The throttle response, boost and it must be the engine timing gave the car an obvious edge over how it was before.
After a few full throttle pulls up near redline, the extra power is obvious. The turbo seems to spool faster and harder. The power across the rev range was substantial and it pulled hard and smooth all the way to redline. Instantly satisfied.
It's hard to describe how much more power it has but it's clear that it's tuned and making more. I had some tuned VWs back when I lived in Colorado. Because of the high elevation the tunes didn't make as much power. The Phearable tune at sea level is different. There's absolutely no question the car is making significantly more power. The best way I can describe it is to say that it's almost like a class of car above where it was. Think Civic Si > Type R or Eco Boost > Mustang GT. It's not quite that much, but its close. The Si makes 100 less HP than the Type R. The Phearable tune added 75 HP (91 octane version). It feels it.
I did the optional exhaust pops/ crackle tune. You can choose between no crackle, Integra Type S crackle or a more aggressive option. I chose the one that mimics the ITS crackle. It works great but it's fairly quiet. I'm happy I picked what I did as it could get old if you picked the aggressive one and got tired of it. Maybe, maybe not. Definitely personal preference. But I think it really adds to the fun of the car. I would highly recommend doing one of the options.
I expected the car to feel faster on a wide open throttle rip to redline but in didn't expect it to feel stronger at part throttle at lower rpm but it does. It feels like a bigger motor. If you've driven a V8 Mustang you know the feeling of more low end torque. This has that kind of feel. It's more satisfying than I expected it to be. The other thing I noticed is the car did seem to be a little louder than before. To the point the I asked John if the tune opens the exhaust valve all the time. He said it doesn't and it still operates as factory.
If you are on the fence or wondering if it's worth it, I would definitely say it is. 75 hp is significant. You can do an intake, downpipe, turbo inlet and get maybe 5 to 10hp. This is not that. For $1000 this truly changed the car.
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