OFFICIAL Phearable stage 1.5 vs TSP stage 1 comparison

SHAYN3R

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Good morning folks. This will be an in-depth comparison between Phearable's stage 1.5 tune (GOD mode) vs, Two Step Performance's stage 1 tune.

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliations with either company, this is an honest and unbiased comparison.

Current Mods: PRL intake, Catless DP, & Magnaflow catback.

I bought the Phearable tune the other night and wanted to give it a few days to really notice all of the differences. The topics that I am going to cover are drivability, deceleration, reliability, and performance.

DRIVABILITY
The very first thing I noticed while driving with this tune was the smooth transition between gears. With TSP (rev hang disabled) it was almost tricky at times to drive the car smooth - especially if you have been using the rev hang feature for smoother shifting prior. WIth Phearable's tune, even with rev hang disabled it is a breeze to shift through the gears smoothly. You'll also notice right off the bat that 'Sport' mode no longer changes anything regarding to engine performance. So that means 'sport' mode no longer makes the throttle super sensitive, it doesn't change boost settings or how fast the boost will ramp up. What you see is what you get. In saying that, Phearable has struck a pretty solid middle ground between performance and drivability in regards to throttle sensitivity. With TSP I found if I was crusing around in 'Sport' mode the car always had this sense of urgency; if you dipped into the throttle even a little then the boost would ramp up and start pulling. Phearable's tune you need to give it more throttle to get more response in comparison to TSP. This is not a bad thing in my opinion, it makes for day-to-day driving quite comfortable and knowing that I have full power/boost on hand all the time without having to switch to 'sport' mode is a welcomed change.

The last thing I noticed with the Phearable tune is when you have 'cruise main' enabled the rev hang is much more prominent than TSP when it had 'cruise main' enabled. There is a reason for this (see drivability). To sum this category up, Both Phearable and TSP have made their tunes very comfortable to use in daily driving, it really comes down to preference in regards to features of the tunes.

DECELERATION
Now you might think that this is an odd topic to cover but I think it is important to note a few things that I have noticed.

Let's first talk about GOD mode. I purchased this setting because I already have a catless DP and thought that I would give it a shot. It sounds great. Between 3500-5000 RPMs while decelerating, the car starts off with loud burbles then all of a sudden it starts cracking and popping, It is quite pleasing to hear actually. It isn't over the top like a lot of the Hyundais or BMW cars you'll hear but it certainly is loud, noticable, and fun. There is a caution notice on Phearable's website regarding this feature so be considerate of that if you do purchase this.

While downshifting with 'cruise main' enabled, this is where you'll get most of your gurgles and pops. I have to say that it does sound great. I should also make note that the tune gurgles all throughout the rev range but you only need to be cautious of the specified rev range when 'cruise main' is enabled. When 'cruise main' is enabled I noticed that the car doesn't nearly decelerate as fast as it would if the rev hang is disabled. I have to note that the car almost has a slight jerking sensation when decelerating in order to make these sounds. When I say a jerking feelling it does not make the ride uncomfortable but I did notice it. It is just something to be aware of. TSP and their tune whether you have rev hang enabled or disabled decelerates very smoothly.

When you turn rev hang off, the car decelerates very smoothly and doesn't have any hesitation. Even with rev hang disabled, you'll notice the car will start to burble from 2000 RPM and below. This is a nice touch, it gives it a pleasing sound in parking lots when you're just casually driving. My TSP tune would gurgle a bit but I would have to be at 1500 RPMS and under.

RELIABILITY
This will be a short topic. Maybe it'll be useful for people who are new to the platform. Two Step Performance and their stage 1 tune has been proven to be extremely reliable assuming the car isn't abused. Their tune has a great track record and has been run in many 10th gens with nothing but good things to say about them. That goes for myself as well, I have had TSP for about 20,000kms and this tune is excellent. I would certainly recommend them to anyone.

To be honest, I had never heard of Phearable until recently. From my research they have been around for a long time with a proven track record with Honda tuning. My guess would be that this tune will also be very reliable but of course that has yet to be seen.

PERFORMANCE
Here is the big question. Let's get this out of the way... Phearable stage 1.5 > TSP stage 1.

The very first thing that I noticed when I did my first 3rd gear pull was that the torque doesn't come on as hard. It seems that Phearable ramps up their boost at a slower rate. Although it comes on slightly slower, Phearable certainly feels like it has slightly more torque and a noticeably beefier mid-range. You'll really notice once you hit 4000RPM that the car has a significant difference all the way to redline. It is actually a weird sensation and hard to describe. It feels like Phearable's tune takes less effort to rev in comparison to TSP. Although boost comes slightly later in the rev range, it may prove to be slightly safer on both the internals and our clutches. I'm still running the stock clutch and haven't had any slippage on either tunes, I am one of the lucky ones.

The best analogy I can think of is when I went from the Ktuner basemap to TSP the difference was significant. Going from TSP to Phearable’s tune is a similar feeling - although not as prominent it does have more power.. You notice more power throughout the entire rev range with a significant difference up top. Even yesterday it was very hot outside and the car would pull extremely well. I’m excited to see what it does on a cooler night. I’m certainly happy with the purchase.

All in all, if you’re running TSP stage 1, it is worth the upgrade to Phearable’s tune. Both tunes are excellent.

I will try to answer any questions you may have. Cheers.

EDITED:

GOD Mode drive-by

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Sport-injected

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Good morning folks. This will be an in-depth comparison between Phearable's stage 1.5 tune (GOD mode) vs, Two Step Performance's stage 1 tune.

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliations with either company, this is an honest and unbiased comparison.

Current Mods: PRL intake, Catless DP, & Magnaflow catback.

I bought the Phearable tune the other night and wanted to give it a few days to really notice all of the differences. The topics that I am going to cover are drivability, deceleration, reliability, and performance.

DRIVABILITY
The very first thing I noticed while driving with this tune was the smooth transition between gears. With TSP (rev hang disabled) it was almost tricky at times to drive the car smooth - especially if you have been using the rev hang feature for smoother shifting prior. WIth Phearable's tune, even with rev hang disabled it is a breeze to shift through the gears smoothly. You'll also notice right off the bat that 'Sport' mode no longer changes anything regarding to engine performance. So that means 'sport' mode no longer makes the throttle super sensitive, it doesn't change boost settings or how fast the boost will ramp up. What you see is what you get. In saying that, Phearable has struck a pretty solid middle ground between performance and drivability in regards to throttle sensitivity. With TSP I found if I was crusing around in 'Sport' mode the car always had this sense of urgency; if you dipped into the throttle even a little then the boost would ramp up and start pulling. Phearable's tune you need to give it more throttle to get more response in comparison to TSP. This is not a bad thing in my opinion, it makes for day-to-day driving quite comfortable and knowing that I have full power/boost on hand all the time without having to switch to 'sport' mode is a welcomed change.

The last thing I noticed with the Phearable tune is when you have 'cruise main' enabled the rev hang is much more prominent than TSP when it had 'cruise main' enabled. There is a reason for this (see drivability). To sum this category up, Both Phearable and TSP have made their tunes very comfortable to use in daily driving, it really comes down to preference in regards to features of the tunes.

DECELERATION
Now you might think that this is an odd topic to cover but I think it is important to note a few things that I have noticed.

Let's first talk about GOD mode. I purchased this setting because I already have a catless DP and thought that I would give it a shot. It sounds great. Between 3500-5000 RPMs while decelerating, the car starts off with loud burbles then all of a sudden it starts cracking and popping, It is quite pleasing to hear actually. It isn't over the top like a lot of the Hyundais or BMW cars you'll hear but it certainly is loud, noticable, and fun. There is a caution notice on Phearable's website regarding this feature so be considerate of that if you do purchase this.

While downshifting with 'cruise main' enabled, this is where you'll get most of your gurgles and pops. I have to say that it does sound great. I should also make note that the tune gurgles all throughout the rev range but you only need to be cautious of the specified rev range when 'cruise main' is enabled. When 'cruise main' is enabled I noticed that the car doesn't nearly decelerate as fast as it would if the rev hang is disabled. I have to note that the car almost has a slight jerking sensation when decelerating in order to make these sounds. When I say a jerking feelling it does not make the ride uncomfortable but I did notice it. It is just something to be aware of. TSP and their tune whether you have rev hang enabled or disabled decelerates very smoothly.

When you turn rev hang off, the car decelerates very smoothly and doesn't have any hesitation. Even with rev hang disabled, you'll notice the car will start to burble from 2000 RPM and below. This is a nice touch, it gives it a pleasing sound in parking lots when you're just casually driving. My TSP tune would gurgle a bit but I would have to be at 1500 RPMS and under.

RELIABILITY
This will be a short topic. Maybe it'll be useful for people who are new to the platform. Two Step Performance and their stage 1 tune has been proven to be extremely reliable assuming the car isn't abused. Their tune has a great track record and has been run in many 10th gens with nothing but good things to say about them. That goes for myself as well, I have had TSP for about 20,000kms and this tune is excellent. I would certainly recommend them to anyone.

To be honest, I had never heard of Phearable until recently. From my research they have been around for a long time with a proven track record with Honda tuning. My guess would be that this tune will also be very reliable but of course that has yet to be seen.

PERFORMANCE
Here is the big question. Let's get this out of the way... Phearable stage 1.5 > TSP stage 1.

The very first thing that I noticed when I did my first 3rd gear pull was that the torque doesn't come on as hard. It seems that Phearable ramps up their boost at a slower rate. Although it comes on slightly slower, Phearable certainly feels like it has slightly more torque and a noticeably beefier mid-range. You'll really notice once you hit 4000RPM that the car has a significant difference all the way to redline. It is actually a weird sensation and hard to describe. It feels like Phearable's tune takes less effort to rev in comparison to TSP. Although boost comes slightly later in the rev range, it may prove to be slightly safer on both the internals and our clutches. I'm still running the stock clutch and haven't had any slippage on either tunes, I am one of the lucky ones.

The best analogy I can think of is when I went from the Ktuner basemap to TSP the difference was significant. Going from TSP to Phearable’s tune is a similar feeling - although not as prominent it does have more power.. You notice more power throughout the entire rev range with a significant difference up top. Even yesterday it was very hot outside and the car would pull extremely well. I’m excited to see what it does on a cooler night. I’m certainly happy with the purchase.

All in all, if you’re running TSP stage 1, it is worth the upgrade to Phearable’s tune. Both tunes are excellent.

I will try to answer any questions you may have. Cheers.
The driveability aspect that you mention sounds nice (smoother shifting), I often prefer my maperformance stage 2 tune over my tsp just for that reason. Even though the map tune has slightly less power it is better for day to day driving. I think I will try the phearable tune in the near future. ThanKS for the write up.
 

gtman

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Thanks for starting the thread. I am interested to see how this factor's into the tuner reliability thread.
https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/the-tuned-civic-x-reliability-survey.42361/
Me too. Unfortunately, it's not easy getting tuned CivicX'ers to post there. I literally have sent over 700 PM's to tuned car owners here over the past 8 months and the majority refuse to do a survey. Not sure why to be honest. :confused: The survey obviously benefits the whole community.

Just imagine how much better the survey would be if most tuned owners posted there. The whole idea is to have one area folks can view to decide if tuning is a good/safe choice for them.
 
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Thanks for the review. What kind of knock control behavior are you seeing across the two tunes? I assume this is with Canadian 94 octane?
 


arpypat

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Me too. Unfortunately, it's not easy getting tuned CivicX'ers to post there. I literally have sent over 700 PM's to tuned car owners here over the past 8 months and the majority refuse to do a survey. Not sure why to be honest. :confused: The survey obviously benefits the whole community.
I juat flashed TSP Stage 1 last week after 1 year of ownership! I will fill out your survey once I get more data.

This Phearable tune is interesting. If I didn't already have TSP, then I might've opted for their Stage 1 tune for $80 without that obnoxious Garggle On D!ck mode
 
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SHAYN3R

SHAYN3R

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Me too. Unfortunately, it's not easy getting tuned CivicX'ers to post there. I literally have sent over 700 PM's to tuned car owners here over the past 8 months and the majority refuse to do a survey. Not sure why to be honest. :confused: The survey obviously benefits the whole community.

Just imagine how much better the survey would be if most tuned owners posted there. The whole idea is to have one area folks can view to decide if tuning is a good/safe choice for them.
I’m pretty sure I’ve filled out the survey on there previously. I will check back later to update it with my current tune.

Thanks for the review. What kind of knock control behavior are you seeing across the two tunes? I assume this is with Canadian 94 octane?
My car seems to like both tunes. Yes, I use Petro 94 fuel on both tunes. With TSP I would only ever see it go up to .52ish after a few hard pulls. With Phearable’s tune it started off at .59 obviously right when I flashed the car but has since dropped to .49 and fluctuates between there and .50. I’ve been keeping an eye on my fuel trims also and they always seem to be +/- 3% or so. I will update if I see any change there.
 

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I’m pretty sure I’ve filled out the survey on there previously. I will check back later to update it with my current tune.
You did. I certainly wasn't directing my post to anyone like you who has posted. It's appreciated. :thumbsup:
 
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SHAYN3R

SHAYN3R

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I'm managing 43 mpg to my daily commute to work on the highway with phearable. I've never seen over 40 mpg with tsp stage 1 and I'm almost full bolt ons.
Funny you mention this. I actually noticed slightly better mileage too on my 230km trek I do every few weeks. Usually I average about 5.9L/100km on the highway while cruising on TSP. With Phearable it stayed right around 5.6L/100km. Nothing substantial but I did notice a change.
 


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Funny you mention this. I actually noticed slightly better mileage too on my 230km trek I do every few weeks. Usually I average about 5.9L/100km on the highway while cruising on TSP. With Phearable it stayed right around 5.6L/100km. Nothing substantial but I did notice a change.
Okay good, I'm glad it's just not me then ?
 

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Well this post piqued my curiosity about Phearable. I heard it mentioned a few times but most people dismissed it over TSP, and I hadn't even thought about getting it until I realized I was looking to downgrade TSP stage 2 to a stage 1 tune as soon as I can afford PRL Cobra CAI with race maf. I'll contribute to that survey once I've gotten the tune and ridden it for awhile.
 
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SHAYN3R

SHAYN3R

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I will be adding a soundclip of GOD mode soon.
 

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I will be adding a soundclip of GOD mode soon.
I've got one at idle with some revs and 2 step, but havn't been able to snag a friend to help me film some drive bys.

 


 


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