1.5T Phearable 1.5 tune impression after 2 weeks -- less punchy than stock?

[Bandicoot]

I've had the Phearable 1.5 tune on my Integra A Spec 6MT for about 2 weeks now. It's growing on me, but I have what may be an unpopular opinion about it and I'm curious what others think.

• Rev hang: I honestly don't notice a difference from stock. I understand the tune can't completely eliminate rev hang due to mechanical limitations such as the heavy flywheel, but a marginal improvement in rev hang was my primary motivation for the tune.
• Boost: Even when running Map 1, it seems like I'm rarely achieving the full boost, or anything close to it. I have to floor it and get to ~5k or 6k RPM before I see the number above ~12 PSI. Since I'm in CA, I'm running 91 octane so maybe that is part of the problem?
• Powerband: I do like that the engine doesn't feel like it runs out of breath as I get toward the higher end of RPMs. It is certainly much smoother of a progression compared to factory.
• Overall feel: While the smoothness is nice, the car feels less punchy to me overall. Honestly I do not like flooring it or pushing to high RPMs all that often (especially with rev hang), but it seems like that's what I have to do to really feel the turbo kick in. Whereas with factory I would actually feel the boost much more often (though it was disappointing to feel it fall flat when I did push to higher RPMs like in third gear on the freeway).
• Takeaway: Phearable 1.5 obviously improves the power and smoothness, but it also takes away some of the pep that made me love the car on my test drive. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this car and will keep the tune for a while to see how it goes.

Also, I haven't tried Map 3 and probably won't because I worry about the long-term health of the car. I use Map 1 most often, and Map 2 for a bit more fun when not stuck in traffic. In a perfect world, it would be cool to toggle between Factory and Map 2 (actually in a perfect world I just have a Type S lol).


For those of you who have driven factory, Phearable, and/or TSP, what has your experience been like? What's your preferred tune and map?

Tl;dr: Phearable 1.5 tune didn't noticeably improve rev hang for me, and while it improves the smoothness and power overall, I am having a hard time achieving full boost, and it also takes away some of the lower-RPM punchiness that I enjoy.

P.S. - I was disappointed to learn that I need to change the gap on the spark plugs. Maybe it was disclosed somewhere but I don't see it on Phearable's website and I only noticed it in my post-purchase email. I have not done that yet but KCON has been stable at ~0.52-0.65. Is anyone else running the tune with factory plugs/gaps?

Update 5/25/26: I disabled auto rev match and I feel like there's less rev hang on upshifts now. I wouldn't think that feature would impact rev hang on upshifts, but it feels much improved.

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[Singularity]

Which gear are you in when you're monitoring your boost?

I've been running the Phearable 1.5R tune for about a year now. Because of my ECU model, I'm locked to MAP 3. In 2nd gear I'm seeing boost levels between 18 -19 PSI. In 3rd gear I'm hitting 22 PSI and 4th - 6th gear I'm hitting 24.5 to 25 PSI (depending on the weather, etc.). I run 91 OCT mixed with 100 OCT to achieve 93.

I'm using stock sparkplugs, but because I'm locked to MAP 3, I've upgraded my clutch.

What are you using to monitor your boost levels? Have you compared your stock tune vs Phearable 1.5 for both MAP 1 and MAP 2? Are you getting the same boost levels for MAP 1 and 2? I use KTuner V2. My KCON stays at a steady 0.49 but after an hour or so of spirited driving it will get up to 0.52.

I might be mistaken, but I thought I read somewhere that MAP 1 actually runs lower boost levels than the stock tune.

 

[UWU-mancer]

My son has a 10 gen si full bolt on but stock dp. My de5 only has intake intercooler and catback

he just installed his pherable tune. We knew what the outcome would be but we did not expect the si to do that well! Definitely impressed. This was map 1. His mid range is incredible now!

 

[Singularity]

That is impressive. I'm curious how he would do on MAP 3.

 

[slowcountry]

Yep the email that the pherable tune comes with has the instructions for which spark plugs to use at what gap. Also, when you order the tune, you're supposed to indicate what octane fuel you use.

Stock boost is around 15 or 16 psi, map 3 is 25 psi.

I had factory plugs for a few days before I swapped, difference is immediately noticeable. I also stick with 93 oct. My ECU only has a map 3.

 

[Baozzer]

I was running factory spark plugs gap for 50k miles while tuned. Didn’t realize you should regap which isn’t at all difficult until I decided to change my spark plugs for maintenance. I didn’t notice anything lol. I mainly only use map 1. But I will say I am not currently experiencing clutch slippage anymore on map 3 like I was before. So maybe it did make a difference when using more boost

 

[Bandicoot]

Which gear are you in when you're monitoring your boost?

I've been running the Phearable 1.5R tune for about a year now. Because of my ECU model, I'm locked to MAP 3. In 2nd gear I'm seeing boost levels between 18 -19 PSI. In 3rd gear I'm hitting 22 PSI and 4th - 6th gear I'm hitting 24.5 to 25 PSI (depending on the weather, etc.). I run 91 OCT mixed with 100 OCT to achieve 93.

I'm using stock sparkplugs, but because I'm locked to MAP 3, I've upgraded my clutch.

What are you using to monitor your boost levels? Have you compared your stock tune vs Phearable 1.5 for both MAP 1 and MAP 2? Are you getting the same boost levels for MAP 1 and 2? I use KTuner V2. My KCON stays at a steady 0.49 but after an hour or so of spirited driving it will get up to 0.52.

I might be mistaken, but I thought I read somewhere that MAP 1 actually runs lower boost levels than the stock tune.

I'm watching boost on the KTuner V2, primarily in 2nd, 3rd, and sometimes 4th gear. My understanding is that 1st gear boost is limited by design.

Good question on Map 1 vs. Map 2 boost levels. I am getting higher boost on Map 2. I think the tune is working as it's supposed to, and I do like it, just need a bit longer to acclimate to it.

Props on achieving 93 OCT in AZ. Did you find a specialty gas station where you can add the 100 and 91 at the same time?

 

[Bandicoot]

I was running factory spark plugs gap for 50k miles while tuned. Didn’t realize you should regap which isn’t at all difficult until I decided to change my spark plugs for maintenance. I didn’t notice anything lol. I mainly only use map 1. But I will say I am not currently experiencing clutch slippage anymore on map 3 like I was before. So maybe it did make a difference when using more boost

That's good to know. I'm at ~43k miles so I'll probably get new plugs next time I need an oil change. Clutch slip scares me so I'm staying clear of Map 3!

 

[Baozzer]

That's good to know. I'm at ~43k miles so I'll probably get new plugs next time I need an oil change. Clutch slip scares me so I'm staying clear of Map 3!

it's a huge chain of events. clutch slipping leads to new clutch, new clutch leads to headstuds and bigger turbo lol. i personsally am trying to stay away from upgrading the clutch until the car NEEDS it

 

[Singularity]

Props on achieving 93 OCT in AZ. Did you find a specialty gas station where you can add the 100 and 91 at the same time?

There is a Chevron about 20 minutes away that sells Sunoco 100 OCT, so I'll drive up there sometimes and mix both there. There is a Love's that is much closer that also sells Sunoco 100, but I'm a weirdo and refuse to use their gas, so I'll jump across the highway to finish fueling at Shell or Chevron.

 

[Bandicoot]

it's a huge chain of events. clutch slipping leads to new clutch, new clutch leads to headstuds and bigger turbo lol. i personsally am trying to stay away from upgrading the clutch until the car NEEDS it

lol exactly, expensive chain of events

 

[UWU-mancer]

That is impressive. I'm curious how he would do on MAP 3.

Didn’t record but he’d hop forward half a car and proceed to lose his placement slowly. Seems like the mid range on map 3 is pretty strong. We only tried it once and he promptly went back to map 1

he’s looking at radiator upgrades now and wants to avoid blowing the motor. I feel like map2 daily should be fine, according to the dyno’s I saw. I don’t think that’s enough tq to challenge the stock rods. But, his car his rules

 

[Singularity]

I feel like map2 daily should be fine, according to the dyno’s I saw. I don’t think that’s enough tq to challenge the stock rods. But, his car his rules

At least he's got some mechanical sympathy

The factory rods are one of the reasons I've been hesitant to upgrade to Phearable's Flex Fuel tune, however the 1.5R tune doesn't focus on low-end torque (like you said, its all about the mid-range), so even on MAP 3, the engine can safely handle up to ~300 ft. lbs. of torque.

 

[toddrhodes]

For our cars, does turning off Cruise Main do anything? I've read that turning it off actually invokes the rev hang delete function (so if Cruise Main is ON, rev hang is not disabled, and vice versa) but I've also read that it merely controls Advanced VSA. And in my email from Phearable, they say not to use Advanced VSA.

And for spark plugs, all my email says is to use factory NGK ILZKAR8H8S at .26, it doesn't mention any other type of plugs or gaps.

I will say I agree with the OP. The midrange on the Phearable 1.5R, on any level, doesn't feel very strong. Maybe that's on purpose. Oddly enough, installing a PRL TIP seems to have woken up that part of the powerband more than I expected on a stock turbo.

New clutch gets installed a week from today and then I'll have the same shop do the 1x1 head stud method with Inline Pro head studs. Then I can work on getting the PRL drop-in turbo that's on the way, installed and of course then I have to get it e-tuned.

 

[boosted180sx]

i had the 1.5r. I daily the car for 30k miles on map 2 (map 3 once in a while) and now back on the stock tune (went back to stock tune cause i was going to sell the car but decided to keep it for a bit longer), and tbh after going back to the stock tune, i felt whatevers towards it. Been on the stock tune for like 6k miles and im totally okay. Rev hang wasn't reduced as much as i had hoped, and the power/torque again was whatever. Even though it didn't run out of breath up top, car was still slow and also still felt just as slow so i'm not going to bother getting another ktuner to run it again.

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