Livernois MyCalibrator Touch Advances Tech To 2020 And Beyond

When you buy a late model muscle car advertised with high horsepower numbers and you’ve blown money on aftermarket parts, it doesn’t mean they will all play nice together and get the most out of your car. Even if the modifications sorta work, many OEM and modified muscle cars are leaving horsepower, efficiency, and resulting performance numbers on the table, which is where Livernois Motorsports and Engineering steps in with its MyCalibrator.

Now, performance gains can be unlocked in dealer-fresh cars or late model domestic platforms that have a number of mods that need to work together. But, the folks at Livernois aren’t known for resting on their existing products. The MyCalibrator is no longer a crude hand-held but a modern LCD touchscreen with the release of the new MyCalibrator Touch.

The Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator is no longer a crude hand-held but a modern LCD touchscreen with the release of the new MyCalibrator Touch.

Beyond the press releases and marketing jargon, we wanted to check with the experts at Livernois Motorsports about the Touch unit. Company President, Dan Millen was available to give us insights for the MyCalibrator Touch development process and highlight new features. 

“We have undergone a complete redesign of the product and this is a full touchscreen versus the limited screen of the predecessor,” says Millen. “Beyond the touchscreen, it does a lot more than the old version, too. It clears engine codes and we can now let the user change the tire/gear-ratio right from the device. The biggest addition that our customers wanted was the data-logging feature. There is engineering data that we can work remotely with the tool too, which can help scan for problems if needed.”

The Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator Touch certainly has a lot of features to discuss, but at its core, it is still a tried and true device to unlock power, improve performance, and get the most out of OEM parts and aftermarket performance upgrades. The Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator is a solid solution to generate improved throttle response, boost speed limiter, and raise the RPM redline. Think of it as unlocking what the OEM engineers left on the table. Sorry, we pay for the whole car, not some super-safe tune the lawyers and warranty bean-counters signed off on.

“Beyond the touchscreen, it does a lot more than the old version too. It clears engine codes and now we can let the user change the tire/gear ratio right from the device. The biggest addition that our customers wanted was the data-logging feature.” – Dan Millen, President Livernois Motorsports

Let’s be clear though, the Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator Touch features are not irresponsible. They are still 50-state and CARB-legal to use in California. All of the factory emissions are intact, operational, and functioning within legal limits, so the EPA can sleep well, but the guy in your rearview mirror… not so much. The safe, economy tune your car came with will now be much more aggressive, even automatic transmissions will shift better and in the case of trucks, tow and haul better.

The process is fairly straightforward. The first step is to buy the Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator Touch and hook it up to your vehicle’s OBD-II port. The OBD-II port (found on all post-1996 vehicles) uploads a file on the handheld, which is emailed to Livernois Motorsports for review and modifications. Within 24- to 48-hours the file is improved for the new tune and can be loaded back onto the vehicles ECU.

Now, stock ECUs are essentially running the same tune with minor variances, so that is an easy tweak for them but Livernois Motorsports will also deal with modifications and upgrades to the vehicle. Add a nitrous kit, turbo, cams etc., and the file (along with a small upgrade fee) can be altered to work properly with the new upgrade. Best of all, this can be done remotely using a laptop and running the MyCalibrator app downloadable on the Livernois Motorsports website for all Windows 7, 8, and Windows 10 computers.

The tune can be done remotely using a laptop and running the MyCalibrator app, downloadable on the Livernois Motorsports website, for all Windows 7, 8, and Windows 10 computers.

Naturally, there are choices in the revised tune that are select-able using Livernois Motorsports MyCalibrator Touch. The newly installed MyCalibrator Touch file will have multiple tunes to do different activities with the car, like go to the track, spirited street driving, cruising, pure fuel economy, and more. But, let’s be real, we’re here to make power and independent video tests are claiming really sound numbers on stock cars. 

For example, a bone-stock 2019 Ford Mustang GT was putting down 387whp on the dyno but the results leap to the area of factory crank horsepower ratings. An impressive 426whp on the first pull means that nearly 40 horsepower was unlocked on a 5.0L Coyote with nothing but a tune. We’ve heard of turbo cars getting a big boost from the factory, but that kind of jump on a naturally aspirated motor with no changes is worth the investment. This equates to extremely high horsepower-per-dollar results – just do the math.

This bone-stock 2019 Ford Mustang GT was putting down 387whp on the dyno. An impressive 426whp after the tune means nearly 40 horsepower was unlocked on a factory Coyote V8.

New for 2020 is the MyCalibrator Touch. Not only does the device boast improved hardware but data logging capabilities too. “Users can set the data logging up with six different parameters, such as air/fuel ratio, temperature, and more.” says Millen. “If you’re on the monitoring screen of the MyCalibrator Touch plugged into the car, and shut it off, it will stay on that screen as soon as you start it back up.”

The data logging, of course, will help owners understand their car better, but more importantly, it allows Livernois Motorsports engineers to translate the data into performance tunes. Aside from the power gains and data logging, the MyCalibrator Touch can also adjust for different wheel and tire sizes and new gearing right on the device. The MyCalibrator Touch can also adjust transmission shift points, torque converter control, and essentially optimize the shifting performance to keep the party going in that powerband. The benefits in a street car with occasional track use are obvious, but Livernois reports their tunes also assist trucks to be optimized for towing as well.

“The towing program will allow Ford, Chevy, and Dodge truck owners to optimize power in the band and shift at the right points.” says Millen “A few users reported better gas mileage using the tune as well.”

Livernois even pointed out that a few Ford truck transmissions have a tendency to jump a gear. Without an explanation of why the factory ECU does that, the MyCalibrator Touch tune fixed the problem so that all gears were used properly. The result is more power to the ground being in the right gear. That wasn’t on the radar for Ford but Livernois engineers cover many modern trucks in addition to nearly all modern muscle.

For now, Livernois has the market well covered with its MyCalibrator Touch. Modern muscle cars like the Ford Mustang GT’s Coyote V8 and Ecoboost 2.3L turbo motors are included. Ford truck motors like the 3.5L and 2.7L in F-150s and Explorer SUVs. GM is well covered with Corvette, Camaro, and Cadillac with this third phase of the GM MyCalibrator program. And finally, Mopar V8 muscle is covered with the Challenger, Charger, Durango and RAM truck applications.

There are a million hard part upgrades on the market, but it’s hard to find better modification value than the Livernois Motorsports MyTouch Calibrator can produce.

With a full line of platforms from different manufacturers and multiple tunes supplied, Livernois Motorsports and Engineering certainly has the domestic market covered. One of the products in development is the 6.7L Power Stroke diesel from Ford, which is currently testing in California to meet or exceed the stringent CARB emissions standards of the Golden State.

There are a million hard part upgrades on the market, but it’s hard to find better modification value than the Livernois Motorsports MyTouch Calibrator can produce. If you are like us, we sure want the most out of every modification we make, not minor lateral gains, little excitement, disappointments or broken dreams. It would certainly torture us to have a newer performance muscle car with 40 or so horses sleeping under the hood, time to wake ’em up.

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About the author

Dave Pankew

Dave has been a gearhead forever and bought his first car at only 15. Since then he has owned, built and raced over 60 cars, turning his obsession into a career becoming Editor-in-Chief of a tuner magazine nearly 20 years ago.
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