Livernois tune update

[Langwilliams]

Thanks for the info. I would definitely retune to the tow tune before towing as boat and trailer would be around 3500-4000lbs. Was more so worried about causing engine damage with the 91-93 tune as a daily with zero towing.

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[Frenchy]

Looking into getting the Livernois tuner and have a few questions. Has anyone had any real serious issues daily driving with the 91-93 performance tune long term? I only drive my truck on weekends to and from the cottage snd to tow my 19' bass boat. I would switch to tow tune when towing. I do about 20k kms a year which is about 12000 miles. Has any one had ford deny warranty due to being tuned?

I did daily drive the performance tune and I can say it was alright. My preferred was the Tow tune. Big thing to understand is no matter what you should never tow with a performance tune. Eityer tow stock or with a tow tune. That said switching tunes will cause the transmission to go into relearn mode as all the learn data will be cleared.

 

[Doc]

Oh ok. I tried the soft shit tow, but not sure the difference with the regular. I may load it and try it.

“I tried the soft shit tow”

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

Yea just put it on the tow tune and leave it

Its a great tune for daily driving too

 

[Jmarler]

Just to add about towing. This what livernois said. Just remember its his opinion about towing lightly and not official.

"Jimmy,

Thanks for the details on this. Something small like that wouldn't be a problem to stick with the performance tuning if you prefer. There's not an exact weight limit since there are so many variables which is what I was going to chat with you a bit further in depth about over the phone to try and explain the differences in tunes a bit better. The towing tune is able to handle max payload like the factory tune would since we leave more of the factory safeties in place such as the catalyst temperature protection for example. When towing very heavy loads or in more strenuous situations like 70-80+ MPH on the freeway for hours at a time or steep hills for example, it really puts these smaller 4 cylinder turbo engines to work and the turbos create a lot more heat when compared to just cruising around town at low speeds.

On the factory tune and towing tunes the truck senses the catalytic converter temps rising and once it reaches a specific range the truck will adjust fuel / timing / boost etc to cool down the cat to prevent melting them down. The downside to cat over temp type of protection these ecoboost vehicles have is that the vehicle loses a noticeable amount of power since it's trying to cool down the cat and protect itself during more extreme situations like max towing, long periods of high speed towing large loads etc. So the performance tunes have adjustments in those areas along with many other things like shift points, firmness, torque management etc. to wake the truck up and maintain peak performance and fuel mileage as well but are things that could lead to issues when towing thousands of pounds and things of that nature. So its tough to put a set number of pounds since it can really vary depending on the conditions, how long you are towing, what speed you're running the truck at those times etc. If you are going to pick up a some sheets of plywood 10-15 minutes down the street at Lowes and zip back home , no big deal you can run the performance tune in my opinion without the truck breaking a sweat. Now if you plan to tow a camper on a road trip, definitely suggest to swap over to the towing tune. Hopefully this helps to clarify things a bit further but let me know if you'd like to chat by phone sometime or have any other questions. Thanks again!"

 

[Frenchy]

Just to add about towing. This what livernois said. Just remember its his opinion about towing lightly and not official.

"Jimmy,

Thanks for the details on this. Something small like that wouldn't be a problem to stick with the performance tuning if you prefer. There's not an exact weight limit since there are so many variables which is what I was going to chat with you a bit further in depth about over the phone to try and explain the differences in tunes a bit better. The towing tune is able to handle max payload like the factory tune would since we leave more of the factory safeties in place such as the catalyst temperature protection for example. When towing very heavy loads or in more strenuous situations like 70-80+ MPH on the freeway for hours at a time or steep hills for example, it really puts these smaller 4 cylinder turbo engines to work and the turbos create a lot more heat when compared to just cruising around town at low speeds.

On the factory tune and towing tunes the truck senses the catalytic converter temps rising and once it reaches a specific range the truck will adjust fuel / timing / boost etc to cool down the cat to prevent melting them down. The downside to cat over temp type of protection these ecoboost vehicles have is that the vehicle loses a noticeable amount of power since it's trying to cool down the cat and protect itself during more extreme situations like max towing, long periods of high speed towing large loads etc. So the performance tunes have adjustments in those areas along with many other things like shift points, firmness, torque management etc. to wake the truck up and maintain peak performance and fuel mileage as well but are things that could lead to issues when towing thousands of pounds and things of that nature. So its tough to put a set number of pounds since it can really vary depending on the conditions, how long you are towing, what speed you're running the truck at those times etc. If you are going to pick up a some sheets of plywood 10-15 minutes down the street at Lowes and zip back home , no big deal you can run the performance tune in my opinion without the truck breaking a sweat. Now if you plan to tow a camper on a road trip, definitely suggest to swap over to the towing tune. Hopefully this helps to clarify things a bit further but let me know if you'd like to chat by phone sometime or have any other questions. Thanks again!"

Put simple it is still best not to tow with a performance tune. Stock and tow tunes are meant for daily driving and Towing as safe parameters. Performance tunes are meant to for you to show off your small little guy to all the Civics and Tacos in town

 

[XL GT]

I know this thread is five months old, but I thought it better to not start a whole new thread just to ask what is probably a goofy question.

If you have the Livernois tow tune in all the time, would it be okay to keep it installed for a 3-4 hour road trip even with pretty much no weight in the bed and not towing anything? It'd be okay for all types of driving?

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I know this thread is five months old, but I thought it better to not start a whole new thread just to ask what is probably a goofy question.

If you have the Livernois tow tune in all the time, would it be okay to keep it installed for a 3-4 hour road trip even with pretty much no weight in the bed and not towing anything? It'd be okay for all types of driving?

Many run the Tow tune full time.

You will be fine.

 

[XL GT]

Many run the Tow tune full time.

You will be fine.

Thank you, Doctor.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

+1

 

[Wytchdctr]

Mine slams the into 2nd like kid trying to learn how to drive a stick on the tow tune. It drove me crazy to the point I went back to 91/93 SS. It may have calmed itself down eventually after the learning cycle, but if that was going to continue that was a big nope for me. If I need to pull I'll flash back to stock.

Flashing again has me a bit nervous after the crank sensor CEL mine threw when I was testing different tunes. I am glad the mycal box fixed it, but now I'm a bit paranoid.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Patrick @Wytchdctr it took 8 minutes for me to go back to stock from the performance tune and only a couple more to switch to the tow tune. After a 600 mile trip I found the tune acceptable for towing and the shifting for me was smooth. Avg mpg was 16.1 and it was a stormy, windy day for much of the driving.. As for the 55mph sticker on the U-haul trailer that speed was held for a few seconds as I blew through it.

 

[Wytchdctr]

Patrick @Wytchdctr it took 8 minutes for me to go back to stock from the performance tune and only a couple more to switch to the tow tune. After a 600 mile trip I found the tune acceptable for towing and the shifting for me was smooth. Avg mpg was 16.1 and it was a stormy, windy day for much of the driving.. As for the 55mph sticker on the U-haul trailer that speed was held for a few seconds as I blew through it.

Next time I need to pull something I might give it a bit longer to smooth out. It was far smoother in 5th than what I get now. It was mostly the 1 to 2 shift that was horrible. Buuuuttt...... I didn't give it much of a chance before I went back to the 91-93.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Next time I need to pull something I might give it a bit longer to smooth out. It was far smoother in 5th than what I get now. It was mostly the 1 to 2 shift that was horrible. Buuuuttt...... I didn't give it much of a chance before I went back to the 91-93.

It was the first pull for me and first time using the tow tune. Empty 900 pound trailer for 300 miles and about 1500 pounds for the next 300. What was weird for me was the downshifting while coming to a stop and on descents it would drop to 5th for engine braking. A little too low a gear for me so I would tap the gas to move the gears up.

 

[jflogerzi]

use the tow tune daily. Tow about one a month 200-400 miles a car trailer and track car. combine weight is around 5000lbs. truck handles this no problem

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