Computer Upgrade 97,98C5 to 99-02

Searched but cant seem to find what I'm after....

NEW to both the LS1 and HP tuners but have lots of experience building and tuning ford mod motors with Sniper..

So, Picked up a new to me C5 and picked up HP tuners less then 24hours later, really am interested in trying it out and converting my mustang tuning needs to HP Tuners as well.

Haven't even installed the program and came to an article about the 97,98 Computer not being ideal for Big mods and horse Power. There is an in-depth write up about the PIN out change which seems simple however Im unsure of the exact tuning/flashing that will need to be done after so I have held off.

Im enjoying the car now and wanted to get my feet wet with HP while its a mild bolt on car, Over the winter it will be getting heads, Cam, Blower and I Ill be dyno tuning it of coarse. For me it makes sense to swap the computer now, tune it and make sure its solid before dipping into the motor. In my experience Hitting everything at once just makes it awful to diagnose problems should they arise later.

If I swap the computer now and get the car dialed in Ill be a step ahead and know its solid before slapping 600plus HP on it.


Now, Question time :D

SO I pick up a 99-02 LS1 Computer from a Car, van or truck (apparently needs to have Blue and Black connectors) and then install it, whats next? IS there a base 2002 corvette Tune file somewhere I can simply download? In many Cobra swapped mustangs Ive been forced to swap tables manually while using a 2 valve 4.6 computer. On something so new to me I would not feel comfortable doing so..

If there is no Base tune I can slap in it and I would be forced to manually change everything then my next question would be.. Should I source a 99-02 C5 computer to start? I also have read a lot about imputing VIN numbers. I have never had to do so before. I am use to the credit system, ushually I would purchase them per vehicle and down load a stock tune from the new computer and start tuning from there. IF the vehicle were to ever be put back to stock I would put the stock file back into the computer and get my credits back. No vins required. The vins has me thinking I cant simply borrow a stock file from someone else but hey, I could be wrong

thanks for anyhelp