Phearable ECU Review!

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92dxhatch

Senior Member
Motor: D15B7
Car: 92 Honda Civic
Model: DX Hatchback


i know some of you said that chipping a B7 is pointless, and i think to a point yeah, maybe.
i was given the chance to get a Free tuned ECU from John @ phearable.net. i was thinking what it could possibly even do, but for free, lets see.

first off i had some previous issues with my car that i had to resolve, but is now complete. i just replaced the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, alternator, clutch master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder, clutch flex line, and starter.


once i was sure everything was in running order under the original ecu, i took it out for a couple hard runs to get a good feel of the STOCKNESS! "supposedly". anyways, the B7 can be a great commuter motor, it does have a bit of pep, and runs strong as long as its taken care of.

well, came back home after the runs, switched the ecu's and automatically noticed a huge difference in torque. i was like "WOW" thats acctually a big drawback to my econo motor, in under regular driving, there is not enough torque.

i noticed an increase in top end power, and better acceleration. now its nothing to majorly boast about, i'm still gonna get whoped by MANY car, but as a good commuter cars, i can definitly notice a performance difference. if i went back to purchace one for myself if i wasn't given the free one and i knew what i know now, i would no doubtedly buy one.

let weigh the pro's and cons.

Stock ECU

Pros:
1. good strong motor
2. decent pep and power for milage
3. 38-42 mpg
4. takes a beating.

Cons:
1. not near enough torque for an econo motor
2. not enough HP "duh"
3. low rev limit, "6800"
4. no top end HP
5. Govenor

Phearable ECU

Pros:
1. stronger running motor
2. better acceleration
3. way better torque
4. slightly better top end
5. better overall power across the board
6. 36-40mpg
7. still takes a good beating
8. slightly higher rev limit "7200"
9. no govenor

Cons:
1. still not enough hp, but better

as you can see, there is alot more pros vs cons, please keep in mind that this ISN"T your mad HP turbo motor. this is just a look at an econo motor and what it can reveal! thats it.

i belive this is useful info for those of you that use your honda as a daily driver and are happy with what you have but would like a little bit more kick without swaping and majorly dropping your mpg.

my opnion:

i am very pleased with the effects of the ECU to my little stocker! i was always a little bugged about the torque, but i am very impressed at how well John from Phearable.net tuned my ecu to get good overall power and still maintain good mpg and decent HP. like i said, knowing what i know now, i would have bought one if it wasn't free, i think $150 is a good deal for what has been revealed in a B7.
now, i wouldn't think its worth it at all for any D15's except the B7, or Jdm version which has a much greater potential. if it can have a good overall effect on such a small motor, think of the potential your LS/vtec, or b16 all motor will reveal.


now, i've got another review comming up on the Jdm H22 in a 2000 prelude. once i get the motor installed and running. i'll keep you updated.

i hope this was useful. atleast to the point that even a polished turd can turn over decent numbers and stats.

oh, one more thing, with a phearable ecu, you get some really cool features like, a data loggin port so you can tune on the fly without having to reburn your chip at the dyno, you can get a CEL shiftligh, which is pretty cool for those of you that like some stealth to your car, and many others, check it out and read up on it here.

if you have any questions, please ask, i'll be happy to answer any questions you may have, if i can't, i can refer you to John who has first knowledge of each honda/acura motor.

thanks for reading

~Ryan
 
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i'm recked for a day. TTIWWODG. I would like to see the dyno graphs for this. a lot of people have "mental" gains. I'm not doubting your review in any way, so please don't take it as that. i'm just a visual type person and need to see stuff in black and white for it to register.
 
The ass dyno is never accurate, especially when you know its been switched. Your mind makes you think its faster :)

That said, all honda ecu's are very conservative from the factory.
With minor changes, there is easily 10 hp on a stock d-series to be found and played with.

If not speaking for phearable.net themseleves, it speaks words for the tuning community. We have access to great tools now-a-days through crome and all the rest and used correctly, can make your motor run better and safer along with the added benefit of power gains.
 
yeah, i totally know what you mean by "mental gains", and really this is mainly done by feel. and i take no offence, i might have it dynoed, just to see what my putter will pull, but i doubt it will be much, i know a stock B7 is 102Hp and 95 Tq. so i'm "thinking" the hp went up by maybe if at all by 5-10hp and tq is about 5-10 also give or take. it made a difference, but i'm with you, i think hard numbers would be key. maybe down the road. again, this is just an example. thanks though!

~Ryan
 
pissedoffsol said:
The ass dyno is never accurate, especially when you know its been switched. Your mind makes you think its faster :)

That said, all honda ecu's are very conservative from the factory.
With minor changes, there is easily 10 hp on a stock d-series to be found and played with.

If not speaking for phearable.net themseleves, it speaks words for the tuning community. We have access to great tools now-a-days through crome and all the rest and used correctly, can make your motor run better and safer along with the added benefit of power gains.

i would acctually like to learn crome, is there any site that can teach me this. i'd like to practice, it seams very intresting!
 
pissedoffsol said:
if you got the cash, head to an efi101.com class

thanks, i'll be looking into that! last night i was looking at crome, i can see why people ruin motors right off the bat! :lol: anyways, also been researching it and seeing how it all works, this is acctually pretty cool.
 
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