Livernois MyCalibrator Touch Gives Life To This High-Mileage F-150!

For over twenty years, the team at Livernois Motorsports and Engineering has been at the forefront of innovation and development of quality performance parts, service, and tuning for Blue Oval enthusiasts worldwide. And it is that level of commitment to its customers that has been a critical factor on many of our personal builds here at Ford Muscle as well.

So when the company announced the new MyCalibrator Touch programmer at the 2018 SEMA Show, we were all too eager to get our hands on one. We were very impressed with the power and performance applications this touchscreen programmer brought to the market. And after diving deep into the menu screens, we began to realize that the MyCalibrator Touch was jam-packed with enough customization options to indeed be the last handheld programmer you may ever need for your next project vehicle.

So what about if your next late-model project is going to be used primarily as your daily driver? Or better yet, what are the benefits of owning this programmer for a high-mileage vehicle? As luck would have it, shortly after we asked these questions of the team at Livernois, a brand-new MyCalibrator Touch programmer arrived at our door to explore.

Livernois

Endless Possibilities With Livernois MyCalibrator Touch Programmer

Now we all know that adding horsepower and dialing-in our modified vehicles is usually why enthusiasts invest in a tune, right? But for this test, we wanted to show how an otherwise stock vehicle could also benefit from this device.

So for our test platform, we chose Project Boosted Coyote’s counterpart: its owner’s daily driver, a 2014 Ford F-150 FX4 4×4 with a 5.0-liter engine, which already had some serious miles under her belt. How many miles? How about 110,000 miles!

But we also choose this vehicle because our Project Boosted Coyote is a 1,000-horsepower, Livernois-built long-block Mustang that has also benefited from the particular programmer during its lifespan.

As soon as you plug this programmer into your vehicle, it becomes immediately apparent just how useful this little handheld device can be on an otherwise stock vehicle.

It features a full-color LCD touchscreen display that is extremely easy to read and navigate. The programmer can read and clear Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC) from your vehicle. If you are interested in mounting this device on the dashboard or to the front windshield as your secondary gauge monitor, the touchscreen can be configured to display up to six real-time gauges at any time.

Livernois MyCalibrator Touch Standard Features

  • Custom Calibration and Tuning
  • Dyno Proven Air/Fuel Adjustments
  • Compatible with Most Livernois Performance Packages
  • Datalogging
  • Clear/Read DTC Codes
  • Diagnostics and Tools
  • Full-Color LCD Touchscreen Display
  • Ability To Have Up To Six Real-Time Gauges
  • Cloud Updatable

Uploading The Livernois MyCalibrator Touch Into Our F-150

The MyCalibrator Touch gives you the ability to perform a variety of different functions. When you are ready to tune your vehicle, Livernois Motorsports can develop a tuning package that is right for your build. From a mild tune that increases your miles per gallon or towing capability that is EO approved, to a full-on race tune that is upgradeable for future modifications come track day, this device indeed does it all.

After loading the first of three custom tunes on our 2014 high-mileage F-150 (an 87-91 octane tune), we decided to put about 100 miles on the odometer to see what gains we picked up before we strapped it down on the dyno. Our particular truck’s custom tunes include the aforementioned 87-91 octane tune, a 93-only octane setup, and a tune that was optimized for towing.

Switching through the different tunes was effortless thanks to the color touchscreen display, and almost immediately, we noticed a much more pronounced shift sequence from our 5.0-liter, 6R80-equipped vehicle. We also saw a pleasant one mile per gallon increase in gas mileage throughout the entire 100-mile test drive.

After completing our test drive with the Livernois Motorsports 87-91 octane tune installed, we brought our F-150 over to the team at Dynospeed Racing in Memphis, Tennessee, to strap this truck onto the dyno and find out just how much power we picked up over the factory configuration.

Livernois

As you can see from the dyno graph above, our 2014 F-150 picked up a very usable 15 horsepower and 12 lb-ft of torque over its baseline run. Because this is a daily driven truck, what really got us excited was the increase in useable power and torque down low, which enthusiasts will definitely benefit from throughout the life of the vehicle.

Livernois was also quick to point out that if you send your datalog files in, they can make revisions to your tune, and many users have experienced gains of up to 24 horsepower and 26 lb-ft of torque on an otherwise stock vehicle.

What goes into a Livernois Motorsports Custom Tune?

For enthusiasts that want an advantage on the street or track, the Livernois custom tune will deliver the results you need. We hit up the team at Livernois to ask them to send us a list of the customizable options that are available for the MyCalibrator Touch:

● Fuel Mapping – The fuel map inside the ECU can adjust the air/fuel mix for maximum efficiency and performance in any condition.

● Boost Mapping (If Applicable) – Controlling the compressed air/fuel mixture that is entering the motor. This is accomplished by “teaching” the car’s computer new parameters in which to operate.

● Air/Fuel Management – Air/fuel management is one of the most critical factors in the combustion process. Maintaining a proper air to fuel ratio is crucial to getting the most out of your engine and also to prevent damage.

● Rev, Top Speed Limiters, and Shifting Characteristics – By dialing in the optimal RPM range and pressures for your transmission to shift at, you can extend the life of those components while making a huge improvement in the “seat of the pants” feel. Livernois has also taken this opportunity to revise your top speed limiter. These modifications are made to make sure that you can have a long-lasting and fun life with your vehicle.

● Towing Capabilities – Ability to amplify your vehicle’s natural ability to haul your cargo around. By accessing the parts of the computer that control performance, more power can be created where it is needed in the low RPM ranges. You can even get greater efficiency versus stock!

● Ignition Timing – The secret to gaining power is in the ignition timing. By dialing in the timing, you can unlock more horsepower and torque – while also increasing fuel mileage.

● Torque Management – Using Livernois’ proprietary tuning software, they’ve altered when, where, and how the computer tries to step in to reduce performance.

● Tire Size Alterations (Where Available)

● Axle Ratio Alterations (Where Available)

We had a blast exploring all of the customizable options that this handheld tuner provides and would have no problem running this tuner as a secondary display full-time on our F-150. So what’s next for this device? Well, we plan to do some additional data-logging with this tune to see how close we can get to the advertised gains.

For more information on the entire lineup of Livernois MyCalibrator Touch tuning devices, you can click on the company’s official website here.

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About the author

Kelly Getzelman

Kelly is a SoCal car enthusiast and skilled driver. His “get out and drive” obsession began after attending his first high-performance racing school while serving on active duty. Since then, he has attended numerous military and civilian driving schools across the country to help fuel that passion.
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