The BMW G87 M2 has no shortage of performance. Its turbocharged, straight-six engine and rear-wheel-drive chassis promise a recipe for success.
However, as we have covered previously, the G87 M2 suspension setup requires upgrading to achieve the kind of handling performance expected of BMW M cars.
There is also another area where the standard leaves considerable performance on the table: aerodynamics.
To address this, we travelled to Vulcan Alpha’s headquarters near the Nürburgring to install and test the full Vulcan Alpha aerodynamic package on our Suspension Secrets BMW G87 M2. Rather than simply fitting the components and relying on subjective feedback, we carried out direct before-and-after testing around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The results were remarkable. With the Vulcan Alpha aero kit installed, the M2 generated substantial measurable downforce. This meant it carried significantly more speed through high-speed corners and completed the Nordschleife comparison lap nearly 20 seconds faster.
Just as importantly, the test demonstrated why a major aerodynamic upgrade must be treated as a suspension modification as well as an aero modification.
What Is Included in the Vulcan Alpha BMW G87 M2 Aero Kit?
The Vulcan Alpha aerodynamic package consists of three elements:
- A chassis-mounted front splitter
- An adjustable chassis-mounted rear wing
- Front dive planes, also known as canards
Each component has been developed to perform a specific aerodynamic function. Although the complete package gives the G87 M2 a much more purposeful appearance, the design is driven primarily by performance rather than styling.
The front splitter creates aerodynamic load over the front axle. This pushes the front tyres more firmly into the track surface as speed increases, helping to improve front-end grip and reduce high-speed understeer.
At the rear, the large adjustable wing uses a pressure differential to create downforce over the back axle. Multiple mounting positions allow the wing angle to be altered, making it possible to balance rear downforce against aerodynamic drag.
The dive planes perform a more complex role. They create high-energy vortices along the side of the car, helping to manage turbulent air produced by the front tyres and door mirrors. This helps prevent disturbed airflow from interfering with the rear wing, allowing the wing to operate in cleaner air and work more efficiently.
Even the splitter end plates contribute to airflow management, helping to control the front tyre wake as air moves down the side of the M2.
Chassis-Mounted Aerodynamics Make a Real Difference
One of the most impressive features of the Vulcan Alpha BMW G87 M2 aero kit is the way the components are mounted.
Many aftermarket rear wings are attached directly to a car’s bootlid. Under high aerodynamic load, this can cause the boot panel to flex rather than transferring the force effectively into the vehicle.
The Vulcan Alpha wing uses internal boot bracing and carbon fibre supports connected directly to the chassis rails. This means the aerodynamic load generated by the wing is transferred into the chassis rather than merely compressing or flexing the bootlid.
The front splitter follows the same engineering principle. It is mounted securely to the chassis instead of being supported by the front bumper. This creates an exceptionally strong installation and allows the front aerodynamic load to be transmitted properly into the car.
In practical terms, the splitter and rear wing are not simply cosmetic additions. They actively push the chassis towards the ground, increasing the vertical load acting through the suspension and tyres.
Why Downforce Increases So Rapidly with Speed
Aerodynamic downforce increases with the square of vehicle speed. In simple terms, doubling the speed produces approximately four times the aerodynamic force.
At 50mph, the Vulcan Alpha aero package will already be generating load, but its effect will be relatively modest. At 100mph, the aerodynamic load becomes approximately four times greater.
This explains why the difference between the standard car and the aero-equipped car was relatively limited through the slower sections of the Nürburgring. The kit had not yet reached the speeds at which it could produce its greatest benefits.
Through fast corners such as Flugplatz and Schwedenkreuz, however, the transformation was immediately apparent. This is where the additional downforce allowed the tyres to generate much greater cornering force.
The downside of increasing downforce is drag. A more aggressive rear-wing angle may provide additional cornering grip, but it can also reduce acceleration and maximum speed.
The aim is therefore not simply to select the maximum possible downforce setting. The correct approach is to find the best compromise between cornering performance, aerodynamic balance and straight-line speed for the circuit being driven.
A tight circuit such as Donington Park may benefit from a more aggressive aero setup because cornering performance is particularly important. At the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which includes several long, fast sections, retaining top-end performance becomes a greater consideration.
Why Aero and Suspension Must Be Developed Together
Installing a major BMW G87 M2 aerodynamic upgrade changes the loads acting on the entire suspension system.
As the Vulcan Alpha package generates downforce, the car is physically pushed downwards. This compresses the springs, reduces the available suspension travel and changes the operating ride height.
If the M2 is already set too low, the additional aerodynamic load can cause the suspension to run out of travel. This may lead to the chassis bottoming out, the tyres contacting the bodywork or the dampers operating outside their ideal range.
Spring rate also becomes increasingly important. A spring designed around the weight and loading of a standard road car may compress excessively when hundreds of kilograms of aerodynamic load are introduced at high speed.
Simply installing a much stiffer spring is not always the answer, particularly when using the standard dampers. The original damper valving may not be capable of controlling the increased spring rate, especially during rebound.
For this reason, serious aero packages are best combined with properly developed BMW G87 M2 coilovers. The dampers can then be valved to suit the spring rates, vehicle weight, tyre specification and aerodynamic load.
The Suspension Secrets G87 M2 Setup
Before the Vulcan Alpha kit was fitted, our development car already featured a comprehensive range of Suspension Secrets BMW G87 M2 suspension upgrades.
These included development coilovers with substantially firmer springs and three-way damping adjustment. The car was also equipped with Suspension Secrets front camber plates, rear toe arms, rear traction arms, rear camber arms, caster bushes, and solid bushes. This hardware gives us much greater control over the M2’s alignment and suspension behaviour.
Additional negative camber helps the tyres maintain a more effective contact patch during cornering. Adjustable rear toe and traction arms allow the rear axle to be configured for improved stability, traction and response. Caster upgrades enhance steering weight, self-centring and dynamic camber gain. And the solid-mounted components reduce unwanted geometry changes under load.
The resulting setup already delivered a high level of mechanical grip. Fitting the Vulcan Alpha aerodynamic package allowed us to add high-speed aerodynamic grip on top of that awesome mechanical foundation.
Using Ride Height and Rake to Tune the Front Splitter
As the Vulcan Alpha front splitter is fixed directly to the chassis, its angle cannot be adjusted in the same way as the rear wing.
Instead, the effective splitter angle can be altered by changing the car’s rake. Rake describes the difference in ride height between the front and rear of the vehicle. Raising the rear of the car or lowering the front changes the splitter’s angle relative to the road, which can increase its aerodynamic effect.
This adjustment must be approached carefully. A relatively small ride-height change can significantly alter the aerodynamic balance between the front and rear axles. Too much front downforce in relation to the rear can make the car nervous at high speed. Too much rear downforce can reduce front-end response and encourage understeer.
For that reason, adjustments should be made incrementally and supported by driver feedback, tyre data, ride-height measurements and lap-time analysis.
Nürburgring Testing: Nearly 20 Seconds Faster
For our before-and-after test, experienced Nürburgring driver Misha Charoudin drove the G87 M2 in both configurations.
In slower corners, the difference in speed was relatively small because aerodynamic load is limited at lower speeds. The high-speed corners told a completely different story.
With the Vulcan Alpha aero kit fitted, the M2 was generally between 10mph and 20mph faster through some of the fastest sections of the Nordschleife. Our recently installed laser ride-height sensors also showed that the aero-equipped car remained flatter and more stable, with reduced pitch and roll through high-speed sections.
We originally expected the additional drag to produce a noticeable reduction in straight-line speed. In reality, the loss was minimal.
The higher cornering speeds meant the aero-equipped car entered the following straights travelling considerably faster. Although drag may have slightly reduced the rate of acceleration, the standard car had to spend much of the straight recovering the speed it had lost in the preceding corner.
Across the comparison lap, the Vulcan Alpha package contributed to an improvement of nearly 20 seconds.
More Than 400kg of Measured Downforce
We also carried out controlled speed testing on the German autobahn.
Using laser ride-height sensors and the known spring rates of the Suspension Secrets coilover setup, we calculated the amount of suspension compression created by aerodynamic load at different speeds.
At 146mph, the Vulcan Alpha package generated approximately 414kg of measured downforce.
The rear wing was only in its middle position during this test. Additional rear downforce remains available through a more aggressive wing setting, while the front aero can be fine-tuned further through ride height and rake.
These figures explain why the M2 felt so stable through fast corners and why its cornering speeds increased so dramatically.
BMW G87 M2 Upgrades
The Vulcan Alpha aerodynamic kit has addressed one of the standard G87 M2’s greatest weaknesses. The car now generates genuine high-speed downforce and can carry far more speed through fast corners.
However, aerodynamics cannot work in isolation.
To use this level of downforce effectively, the suspension must control the additional load while maintaining suitable ride height, wheel alignment and tyre contact. The tyres themselves must also be capable of generating enough grip to exploit the available aerodynamic performance.
Our Nürburgring testing suggested that even Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres were becoming a limiting factor. With more than 400kg of downforce available, wider tyres, Cup 2 R tyres or circuit-specific slicks could unlock even more performance.
The combination of the Vulcan Alpha BMW G87 M2 aero kit and Suspension Secrets G87 M2 suspension upgrades has turned an already capable M car into a dramatically more composed high-speed track machine.
This is not an exercise in fitting a large wing for appearance alone. It is a properly engineered package in which aerodynamics, suspension geometry, spring rates, damping, ride height and tyres work together.
For G87 M2 owners seeking genuine road and track performance, the lesson is clear: real downforce delivers extraordinary results, but only when the suspension underneath the car has been developed to support it.
