The Ultimate BMW G87 M2 Modding Guide

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The BMW G87 is the second-generation M2, the smallest car BMW M makes: a two-door coupé with a twin-turbo straight-six, 460 hp at launch and 480 hp since the 2025 update, sold since 2023 with rear drive and a manual or automatic, and since 2026 with xDrive too. It's probably the last small M car of its kind, and it's one people will still want in fifteen years, so build it like that's true.

The car pictured below is our creative director Nathan's own M2, a Frozen Grey LCI with the six-speed manual. He picked it up as a standard car and started on it straight away: ZAERO Design EVO-S gloss black aero, Evolve lowering springs and Bimecc spacers, with Zunsport mesh over the coolers and Acexxon reflector deletes at the back. It's a sensible first stage done properly, and it's the kind of build most of this guide is about. You can browse every part we mention in our BMW G87 M2 parts collection.

The BMW G87 M2 at a glance

Every G87 M2 version explained

The G87 launched in 2023. There are four versions worth knowing apart, and the differences matter more for modifying than the badges suggest.

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BMW UK now lists the rear-drive M2 from the same price whether you choose the manual or the automatic.

What changed with the LCI

On the G87 the update is unusually light: refreshed badging, a move from iDrive 8 to 8.5, a new steering wheel, 20 hp more from the same engine, and new paint and wheel colours. The change that matters most to buyers is quieter. The Carbon Fibre roof and interior trims, once standard, became options, so check the spec of any LCI car rather than assuming.

The M2 CS

The focused one. It makes 530 hp, sheds around 30 kg through extra Carbon Fibre, sits roughly 8 mm lower and gets revised springs, dampers, steering and differential. It's automatic and rear-drive only, built as a limited run, and rides on wheels shared with the M4 CS and CSL. It's the closest thing to a factory track-bred G87, and it's no longer available to order new.

The M2 xDrive

It isn't a power model. The xDrive makes the same 480 hp as the rear-drive LCI car; the story is traction. Its configurable M xDrive system and Active M Differential cut the 0 to 62 mph time to 3.7 seconds, three tenths quicker than the rear-drive automatic. It's automatic only, about 50 kg heavier, and has been built since August 2026. The rear-drive M2, manual included, carries on alongside it.

xDrive geometry is far less forgiving of aggressive spacers and offset changes. The front axle is doing real driving work, so fitment errors a rear-drive car would shrug off turn into tramlining, uneven wear and odd steering. If you go all-wheel drive, stay conservative with offsets.

From August 2026, every M2 gets BMW's M Ignite pre-chamber combustion, a higher compression ratio and new variable-geometry turbochargers. The M3 and M4 had it a month earlier. Power is unchanged, but the hardware isn't. Make sure your tuner and every intake and exhaust part supports your build date before you book anything.

How does the G87 compare with the F87 M2?

The G87 is around 200 kg heavier than the F87 M2 it replaced. When it arrived, that was the main complaint, and it was a fair one for a car meant to be the small, light M car. Drive one and the complaint fades. It's quicker, calmer over a bumpy road and far easier to use every day than an F87, and the weight only really shows on track.

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Nothing wheel-related carries over from an F87, and with the wider tracks and longer wheelbase, F87 aero doesn't either. On power-to-weight, the LCI car has more power for every tonne it carries than an F87 M2 Competition did, but you'll feel the weight in rear tyre wear and in the brakes after a few hard laps. That's why spring rates, pads and cooling come up again and again in this guide.

BMW M2 vs Porsche 718 Cayman, Toyota GR Supra, Audi RS 3 and BMW M4

Two of the M2's natural rivals can no longer be ordered new in the UK, the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 and the Toyota GR Supra, but both are still worth a look nearly new. Of the cars you can still order, that leaves the Audi RS 3 as the fast four-wheel-drive alternative, the M4 Competition as the bigger BMW, and the M240i xDrive as the quieter way into the same shape.

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The M4 is quicker, but it's a bigger, more expensive car and the UK only gets it with xDrive and an automatic. The RS 3 gets off the line faster than a rear-drive M2, but it's a hatch with a transverse five-cylinder and it never feels balanced the way the M2 does. Nearly new, the Cayman GTS 4.0 is the lighter, more focused car, but neither it nor the Supra has the M2's rear seats. Of the cars you can still order, only the M2 gives you a manual and rear-wheel drive.

Buying a G87 M2 to modify

There's one engine, the S58, and output changes with the version, not the hardware. It's strong, well understood, and has plenty of headroom for tuning. The real choices are gearbox and drive.

Manual or automatic?

The rear-drive M2 comes with a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed ZF automatic. The CS and xDrive are automatic only. The manual is the choice for engagement and resale to driving enthusiasts. The catch is a hard torque ceiling: it won't survive the torque a seriously tuned S58 makes, so it caps a big-power build long before the engine does. The automatic is faster and more flexible, and gearbox flashes, using GTS or CS coding or a tuner solution such as XHP, sharpen the shifts and can extend gearbox life on high-power builds by reducing clutch slip.

Choosing the manual so you can tune it later is the classic mismatch. If 600 hp or more is the goal, start with the automatic.

Rear-wheel drive or xDrive?

The rear-drive car is lighter, purer in its steering, available with a manual, and more tolerant of fitment mistakes. The xDrive is about 50 kg heavier and a little diluted at the nose, but three tenths quicker to 62 mph and far more usable in the wet. If the car is your only car through a British winter, xDrive makes sense. If it's a weekend car or you want the manual, buy the rear-driver.

Options worth having

The G87 comes well equipped, so there are very few true must-haves. Every car leaves the factory on adaptive dampers, and they're good, so most people who change them do it for height and stance rather than control. On a used car, chase the Carbon Fibre bucket seats, which give real support and a real weight saving and are a pain to add later, and the Carbon Fibre roof, standard on pre-LCI cars and optional on LCI cars. Active Cruise Control makes a big difference on a car that sees motorways. Carbon-ceramic brakes are excellent on track but expensive to buy and to live with; unless the car sees hard track use, steel brakes with the right pads are the smarter call.

Buying used: what to check

By performance car standards the G87 is solid, but a few known quirks are worth knowing before you put down a deposit. The iDrive screen can rattle, and foam packed behind it sorts that. The front radiators and oil cooler are exposed and take stone strikes, so protect them early with an oil cooler guard and mesh grilles from Zunsport. A knock through the wheel at low-speed full lock, or a creak over rough ground, points to BMW's SIB 32 01 23 on the tie-rod thrust bearing; BMW paused M2 tie-rod replacements pending an updated part, so a noisy car is a dealer conversation, and on a modified car you should rule it out before blaming new suspension.

Check the running-in service was done at roughly 1,200 miles; if it was skipped or delayed, negotiate hard or walk. Interior wear should match the mileage, and empty holes under the bumper or skirts, bootlid damage from an old spoiler and marked bolts in the engine bay all tell you parts have been on and off. Finally, the paint: even from the factory, the front bumper and bonnet can show a slight mismatch against the wings. It isn't necessarily a sign of past damage, but bear it in mind when buying or ordering a painted part.

Running costs

Using up to around a litre of oil per 1,000 km under hard or track use is within BMW's tolerance, so don't panic at a top-up. The hidden costs are rear tyres, PPF for the exposed nose, and the labour and alignments that quietly follow most modifications.

The car to start with

For a big-power build, buy an automatic. For a driver's build, buy the manual rear-drive car. Either way, a clean, honest, slightly dearer car is almost always cheaper in the end.

Before you modify anything

The most valuable hour of any build happens before a single part goes on. On the standard car:

• Fit paint protection film to a clean nose. Film over chips locks the damage in.
• Fit the oil cooler guard and grille mesh before any track use, not after the first stone.
• Confirm the running-in service was done.
• Get a baseline four-wheel alignment, so you can tell what your mods change later.
• Have the paint depth checked, which reveals past bodywork and tells your detailer how much clear coat there is.
• Check tyre condition and dates. Old or mismatched tyres skew every impression you form.

Keep every original part you take off, boxed and labelled. Fit PPF before aero, so the film sits under your splitter line rather than ending at it. And update your insurance before the parts go on, not after.

Where to start, depending on what you want

Our default order holds for almost every build: protection and tyres first, then stance and wheels, then aero, then power. Wheels decide how low you can go, ride height decides which aero survives a speed bump, and power decides what your brakes and tyres have to cope with, so build out of order and the next part undoes the last. What changes is how far you go at each stage, and that depends on what the car is for.

If you want an OEM+ daily

One that looks as if BMW could have built it. Protect it, then add a subtle boot lip and diffuser in gloss black or Carbon Fibre, quality lowering springs and modest spacers, and a re-align once they settle. For sound, a valve controller on the factory system is the gentlest start. Wheels, if you change them, should be tasteful and in the correct offset. For a UK daily, keep the ride height conservative with no deep splitter or extreme drop, and run quality summer or all-season tyres in sensible offsets to avoid kerb rash. Put PPF everywhere the road throws stones.

If you want a fast road car

Sharper everywhere and still usable. Supporting mods come first: fast-road pads, braided lines, good fluid and bushings. Then a sensible tune with an intake and exhaust, road-set suspension, a fresh alignment and an arch clearance kit if the wheels need it, on a fast-road and track hybrid tyre.

If you want a track car

Repeatable pace and reliability. Start with brakes and fluid; the track-biased build further down covers the rest.

If you want a show car

Individuality is the point, so commit to one coherent theme: mismatched aero is the giveaway. Choose Pre-preg Carbon Fibre over cheap parts that haze and crack, wheels and stance to suit the kit, arch work done properly, and accept the daily compromises a show stance brings.

The common mistakes are the same on every car: a wing before a splitter, lowering before the wheels and arch clearance are sorted, big spacers instead of the right offset, springs past usable travel, stretched tyres, a de-catted exhaust that drones on every motorway, and Stage 2 power with no thought for cooling. The usual root cause is building a show car you meant to track, or a track car you then have to drive every day.

On budget, the cheapest step is also one of the best: pads, fluid and an alignment wake the car up for little money. Decide early how far the build will go, and don't drift from one stage into the next without a plan.

The mods that almost never disappoint are a valve-controlled exhaust, fast-road pads with braided lines and fresh fluid, control arm and steering rack bushings, quality springs with an alignment, a subtle boot lip and diffuser, and forged wheels in the correct offset.

Styling and aero

The G87's slab-sided, heavy-nosed design splits opinion, and that's an opportunity. The right aero adds the tension the factory shape is missing. The best cars wear parts that look like they could have left the factory that way, or commit fully to one coherent, more aggressive theme. The worst wear a bit of everything.

How we'd style it: set the ride height and wheels first, then the splitter and side skirts, then the rear, choosing diffuser, boot lip or wing as a set, and finish with Carbon Fibre details. On materials, the one distinction that matters is wet-lay against Pre-preg Carbon Fibre. Pre-preg is autoclave-cured, with a consistent weave and the UV-stable finish an exterior part needs; cheap wet-lay parts are the ones you see going cloudy after one summer.

Front end

Front parts make the biggest difference to how aggressive the car looks, and to how usable it is. A good front splitter settles the front at speed and visually drops the nose, but costs you ground clearance on every ramp and speed bump. Canards are mostly for looks at road speeds. Most splitters crack at the mounting tabs because someone overtightened them, so snug them to the bracket, never fully tight onto bare ABS Plastic or thin Carbon Fibre, and spread the load with proper washers or rivnuts.

Side profile

Side skirts visually lower the car and tie the front and rear together. They're often the missing link that makes a half-built car look finished, and they're usually a straightforward fit. Make sure you can still reach the factory jacking points.

Rear end

You have three levers: the diffuser, the boot lip spoiler and, at the extreme, a wing. Diffusers come in Carbon Fibre from Genuine M Performance, TREVORA, ADRO, Alpha-N, Vorsteiner and 3D Design, or gloss black from ZAERO Design and Maxton, and boot lips from the same names. For wings, the names to know are Alpha-N, TREVORA and Vulcan Alpha. If you fit a rear wing, fit a front splitter too: a wing on its own shifts the balance rearward and risks a light, vague front end at speed.

Full body kits

A full kit changes the car completely, but it's a commitment to cost, to daily compromise and to getting the install right. Plan extra time for front air ducts, rear wings, which need backing plates, careful alignment and sometimes drilling, and some rear diffusers, where exhaust and sensor clearance complicate the fit. Expect to recalibrate the parking sensors and possibly the front camera after a bumper comes off.

Worked example: the TR87 kit on a customer car

When the G87 landed, plenty of people loved how it drove and hated how it looked. We were in that camp too. So straight after launch we spent six months working with TREVORA on a kit for the car. Our own development car was 3D-scanned, the parts were designed around that data, and every piece was test-fitted on a real G87 before it went on sale. The result is the TR87 kit.

The film follows our customer Ben's car. The photos are of our own TR87 development car.

There are two visual paths in the same family. The winged look has upturned edges on the splitter, skirts and diffuser winglets, and pairs with a full rear wing. The flat Low-Line kit is closer to OEM+, with a cleaner lower line and a spoiler lip instead of a wing. Ben's car got the winged look, and the rule from above applies: the TR87 winged splitter carries its own winglets to balance the wing, and the side skirts run the line from the splitter back to the rear winglets.

On Ben's car that meant the three-piece front splitter with winglets, which bolts to the OEM mounting points and lets a damaged section be replaced on its own; the winged side skirts; the rear diffuser and rear bumper winglets, replacing the plain gloss black factory diffuser; and the rear wing on metal legs, which went on in road mode with the option to switch to track later. Up front, the front air ducts nod to the F87 M2's bumper, and the TR87 front bumper centre trim replaces the gloss black original. Every part is 2x2 twill Pre-preg Carbon Fibre, so the weave sits happily next to M Performance carbon, and on Ben's car the splitter weave lined up neatly with the centre trim.

Most of it is a straightforward workshop job. The splitter uses OEM mounting points, so there's no drilling. The diffuser clips all the way round, and the winglets use existing holes. The side skirts are easiest with the car down on ramps rather than up on a lift. The rear wing is the one part that needs drilling: the boot lining comes out and holes go through the boot lid for the legs. TREVORA supplies a template, but it's permanent, so most owners will want it professionally fitted. The front ducts and centre trim need the bumper off, which is also the moment to fit a magnetic front plate kit.

You can buy the TR87 carbon body kit, the TR87 Low-Line carbon kit or the TR87 Track Pack, which pairs a deeper splitter with an adjustable wing; read more in our TR87 Track Pack post. The film opens with the view that everyone hated the G87, and closes with: "I take back everything I said earlier about the G87." The kit fixes the plain front and the squared-off rear while keeping the car recognisably an M2.

Exhaust and tuning

The S58 responds well to tuning, which is why restraint matters.

Exhaust

Our verdict on each setup, from quietest to loudest. A Milltek valve controller on the factory system is the gentlest change: the standard car is already a little loud for its class, and the controller lets you choose when. A back box only, such as the Milltek Sport axle-back, Remus EC-approved axle-back or Akrapovič Slip-On Line, which carries ECE type approval for OPF-equipped cars (not the CS), is fairly noticeable with a louder cold start and low drone risk. Milltek's OPF-back version removes the centre silencer for more volume. A mid-pipe that removes the secondary cats and OPF, such as the Milltek single mid pipe, is noticeably louder with moderate drone and is a motorsport part, not road legal. Combine it with a back box, or add de-cats, and drone becomes the deciding factor.

For any system with upgraded cats or a mid-pipe, fit a valve controller; Akrapovič owners have the Akrapovič sound kit. Removing the particulate filter or cats is track only in the UK: it isn't road legal, it'll fail an emissions test, and tuning can hide the fault codes without making the car legal. A downpipe or de-cat without a supporting tune will also throw a catalyst warning within a drive cycle or two, so plan the pipe and the tune as one job. Browse our G87 M2 exhaust systems and Milltek range, and choose by how much drone you can live with, not how it sounds in a revving video.

Intake

The power comes from the upgraded turbo inlets; the sound comes from the intake cones, which the factory deliberately silences. The Eventuri V2 is the benchmark. Check the build date first: Eventuri says the V2 isn't currently compatible with G87s built from August 2026, which have the M Ignite engine. The Pro Ram kit covers the budget end. On a road car, heat soak through an open intake is small and intermittent, so choose on sound against consistency.

Tuning

On a car still under warranty, we'd choose a reversible piggyback over a flash tune, because a flash is detectable and is the fastest way to flag a warranty claim; once the warranty has gone, a good flash is the more integrated and controllable option. As a guide to what the standard hardware supports: the CS calibration is around 530 hp, a Stage 1 tune around 600 hp with factory cooling, and Stage 2 around 700 hp with downpipes, intake and supporting mods. The realistic ceiling on the standard turbos is about 710 hp with catless downpipes and supporting hardware. Beyond that you're into built-engine territory, with fuelling, internals and cooling addressed together. These are typical figures for cars built before August 2026. M Ignite cars have different turbochargers and a higher compression ratio, so ask your tuner what they've proven on your build date.

Cooling

For most builds, factory cooling is enough, including Stage 1 and Stage 2 on the road. The real exception is the Stage 2 track car in summer heat, which is where uprated parts such as the CSF engine oil cooler and ZF8 transmission oil cooler earn their place.

Brakes and bushings

The standard discs and calipers are excellent; the weak link is the pad. Fast-road or track pads, braided lines and uprated fluid do more for how the car feels than most things you can bolt on, with no warranty drama. If the steering feels numb, control arm and steering rack bushings give real feel back, and they're worth doing early.

Wheels and stance

The G87's move to 5x112 and a 66.6 mm bore means earlier BMW wheels won't bolt on, and any spacers have to be hubcentric to 66.6 mm. These are the numbers to keep to hand.

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If a figure on your car's door placard or in your handbook differs, use that. There's reasonable room to play with sizing, but treat fitment and ride height as one decision, and go square for track.

Lowering

Springs are the simple way to fix the slightly tall factory stance. The Eibach Pro-Kit is the gentle option, at 15 to 20 mm front and 10 to 15 mm rear, and our OEM+ stance kit pairs it with Bimecc spacers sized for the factory wheels. The Evolve kit on Nathan's car goes further, at around 35 mm front and 30 mm rear. If you want to choose the height yourself, the Cobra height-adjustable springs give 20 to 45 mm at the front and up to 30 mm at the rear, and the genuine M Performance height-adjustable kit gives a 5 to 20 mm reduction. Go much lower than the Evolve kit and coilovers make more sense than springs.

For spacers, Bimecc's own guide for the G87 is 15 mm front and 12 mm rear for an OEM+ look, or 20 mm and 15 mm for something more aggressive. If you need big spacers, it usually means you bought the wrong offset. Let new springs settle over 100 to 200 miles before the alignment.

What rubs first

Once the car is lowered with wider or spaced wheels, the inner arch liner is the usual culprit, especially on compression. At low-speed full lock it's the front liner edge and its clips, and mid-corner over a bump, the liner or arch lip under combined load. Check clearance on full lock and full compression, not just sitting in the garage, and fix it in this order: an arch clearance kit first, then liner trimming or a small arch roll if it still catches. Use the four reinforced sill jacking points with a rubber pad, never the floor pan, sump or subframe.

Tyres

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is the right call for most daily and fast-road builds, with the Continental SportContact 7 a strong alternative on a tighter budget. The Yokohama AD09 is a good fast-road and track hybrid with enough wet ability for the road, and the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 or Cup 2 R suit track-focused cars. Don't stretch tyres; it costs grip and sidewall support.

Alignment and coding

Once you know how you use the car, a tailored alignment will almost always suit it better than factory geometry. CS and CSL coding is one of the more interesting free upgrades: more focused factory maps for the steering, differential, traction control and gearbox, with no hardware at all.

Inside the M2

The interior is where restraint pays off most. Carbon Fibre accents work best when they echo what BMW already does, such as the M Performance Carbon Fibre dash trim for pre-LCI automatic cars or FORM Industries Pre-preg Carbon Fibre seat backs, rather than covering every surface. Seats are the single biggest change to how the car feels driven hard. Carbon Fibre buckets, from the factory or Tillett, give far more support, save weight and put you lower. Removing the factory seats has airbag and occupancy-sensing implications, though, and getting it wrong sets a warning light that needs a dealer. For tech, BMW's own coding and feature unlocks slot in cleanly; aftermarket screens and head units are where the headaches start.

Fitting, warranty and insurance

Most of the work in this guide is done at our Chelmsford workshop. Some products let you book fitting at checkout, and for a bigger build it's easier to call us on 020 3780 0770 and plan it together.

Intakes, pads and fluid, lighter bolt-on styling, spacers and many interior pieces are reasonable to do yourself with the right tools and some patience. Seats, brakes beyond pads, suspension geometry, wings and front ducts, and anything that could void your insurance if it's done wrong are professional jobs. Most install problems are broken clips, panel gaps from rushed fits, sensor faults after disturbing bumpers, and seized exhaust hardware, so use proper trim tools, soak exhaust clamps the night before, and dry-fit before you fix anything down.

On warranty, the highest risk comes from flash tunes, cat and OPF deletes and internal engine work. Downpipes, cooling or fuelling changes and gearbox flashes sit in the middle. Bolt-on intakes, back box exhausts, springs, bushings and styling are lower risk and reversible. Keep every original part and receipt, and declare everything to your insurer before the parts go on.

A modified M2 also asks a bit more of you every day, from a louder cold start to the care a deep splitter needs. Shorten oil intervals once the car is tuned or tracked, re-check alignment after the suspension settles, inspect exhaust clamps after winter, and refresh track fluid more often than the two-year road interval. The most common causes of a check engine light are downpipes, de-cats or high-flow cats without a supporting tune, OPF removal and disturbed sensors, and a warning light also fails an MOT.

Builds we'd actually do

Tasteful daily. Sharper and more planted, no harder to live with. The ZAERO Design EVO-S kit or a Carbon Fibre boot lip and diffuser, full front PPF, the OEM+ stance kit with an alignment once it settles, a valve controller on the factory exhaust, fast-road pads and braided lines, and the Pilot Sport 4S. Nathan's car is a version of this build.

Aggressive street. Real presence and pace, still road-usable. The TR87 kit or another one-theme splitter, skirts, diffuser and spoiler, a Stage 1 to 2 tune with an intake and full exhaust, a gearbox flash on the automatic, height-adjustable springs or coilovers, wider wheels in the correct offset with an arch clearance kit, and the Yokohama AD09.

Track-biased. Repeatable lap pace and reliability. Brakes, fluid and lines first, a sensible Stage 2, cooling before more power, aero balanced front to rear such as the TR87 Track Pack, track coilovers, a square wheel setup, a track alignment, CS or CSL coding and Carbon Fibre buckets with the safety systems sorted. It puts cooling margin and consumables ahead of the next 30 hp: build it to finish the session, then make it faster.

Why we build them this way

Every principle in this guide comes from building cars like Nathan's and the TR87 development car, and from fixing the ones that were built the other way. Decide what the car is for, then let that decision drive every choice. The best M2s aren't the ones with the most parts; they're the ones where every part agrees with the next.

Respect what BMW got right, then sort out what it left on the table. If you're weighing up the M2 against BMW's quieter coupé, read our G42 M240i guide, and for where the next six-cylinder BMW is heading, our new BMW 3 Series (G50) guide. When you're ready, shop BMW G87 M2 parts.