^^I just realized your a female!!

 

What sort of budget have you put aside for your mods? And, apart from adding hp, what do you wish to achieve with your Z?

Moving to the ECU (chip) could accelarate you into the $500 budget range & upwards and you may not reach your 15 hp gain that you're shooting for. In most cases going the ECU direction on a Naturally Aspirated VQ (in your case) will not give you the cost to power gains that you're seeking.

From what I've been told, a hydra on a rental NA bone stock Z the gains were 20 + hp. The Hydra is a stand alone EMS direct ECU swap, which is listed at $1950; probably a few $100 less, street price. Taking the ECU (chip) path may not do much for you, even the UTEC which is only a piggy-back will run you in the $1000 range and cost as much as the hydra after tuning and set-up.

G
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IMO in order of importance:

Motordyne 5/16" spacer
technosquare reflash OR UTEC+tuning session
Test pipes or high flow cats of your choice
2.25" true dual exhaust


If you don't know what any of the above are, you need to start searching and doing independent research

 

sorry a whip is a car. I just want to see what we are dealing with here. Im sure if you post picture you will get more help and i might give you my intake free of charge.

 

it seems she only wants a 13hp at the flywheel gain....i think a spacer and exhaust would do it. motordyne + nismo would do it.