Best valved exhaust for BMW M2 Competition F87

Your vehicle.

All our exhausts for this generation, version by version, are brought together on one page: BMW M2 / M2 Competition F87 exhaust system.

The M2 Competition holds a place of its own in the F87 family: the same short body as the 2016 M2, but with the engine of the M3 and M4 of the day. Before choosing an exhaust, here is what sets it apart, and what, in its factory exhaust, holds back what it has to say.

Body style

Two-door F87 coupé, rear-wheel drive

Years

Presented in spring 2018; Rog product page valid from 2018 to 2021

Engine

S55: 3.0-litre straight-six, two MonoScroll turbos

Factory output

410 hp (302 kW) from 5,250 to 7,000 rpm

Factory torque

550 Nm from 2,350 to 5,200 rpm

Gearboxes

Six-speed manual as standard, seven-speed M DCT as an option

Tailpipes

Four, in black chrome

Factory valves

Two, electrically controlled

2018: the M2 gets a new heart

The 2016 M2 Coupé F87 drew 370 hp and 465 Nm from a single-turbo N55 six-cylinder. In 2018, BMW replaced it with the M2 Competition: the same compact coupé, the same wheelbase, but a different engine, the S55 from the M3 F80 and M4 F82. The gain is clear, with 40 hp and 85 Nm more.

The change is also visible from the front: redesigned bumper, widened twin kidney grille in gloss black, and behind it a cooling circuit taken from the M4 with the Competition package. On the Rog product page, the Competition has its own exhaust; the pre-2018 N55 M2 and the G87 that came after each have theirs.

The S55 in Competition form

Three litres, six cylinders in a row, two MonoScroll turbos: that is the S55. In the M2 Competition, it delivers 410 hp between 5,250 and 7,000 rpm, and its 550 Nm arrive from 2,350 rpm and hold up to 5,200 rpm. To reach 100 km/h, BMW quotes 4.2 seconds with the M DCT and 4.4 seconds with the manual gearbox.

The M3 and M4 of the same generation draw more from this engine: in the M2 it keeps a reserve, which the product page figures reproduced below reflect. BMW also reworked its oil supply, designed to stay constant under the hardest cornering loads, on track as on the road.

An M2 CS, more powerful still, is not covered by this product page. Its VIN lets us tell you, in writing and before any order, which exhaust would suit it.

Stage 2: published figures with the front section and an ECU remap carried out by a tuner.

Manual, M DCT and active differential

As standard, the Competition gets a six-speed manual gearbox, compact and light. The dual-clutch seven-speed M DCT with Drivelogic is an option. In both cases, all the power goes to the rear, through the active M differential: an electronically controlled multi-plate limited-slip differential, which can lock up to 2,500 Nm in 150 milliseconds.

On the exhaust side, the gearbox has no bearing. Manual or M DCT, the M2 Competition gets the same Rog cat-back, and your VIN is enough to confirm it before manufacture.

The voice of a twin-turbo straight-six

Balanced by design, the straight-six has a sound that rises without jolts, from a muted rumble at idle to a tight note near maximum revs. On the S55, the two turbos take a share of the gases' energy, and with it a share of the pulses: to the ear, the timbre seems a little veiled low down, more rugged as boost rises.

This grain, typical of a twin-turbo, is precisely what the product page's three designs work on, each in a different direction. On a coupé this compact, the choice is felt from the moment you start up.

Standard, Equal Length or Z-pipe for the Competition

The Standard design keeps the S55's deepest and fullest voice: the two turbos are heard as they are, without arrangement.

The Equal Length gives the two pipes the same length before they join. The pulses then arrive at regular intervals, and the engine changes register: higher, smoother, rid of some of its roughness. On the M2 Competition, it is the design that changes the car's personality the most.

The Equal Length + Z-pipe adds a Z-shaped geometry where the flows cross. The note climbs even higher and takes on an exotic accent, close to a naturally aspirated engine that lives in the revs; it is the highest-pitched of the three.

Each is then combined with a straight pipe, which delivers the raw sound, or with a resonator, which gives a rounder and slightly softer voice. These two characters change nothing in the price.

What the factory exhaust keeps to itself

Our product page quotes 21.2 kg for the Competition's complete factory exhaust. This weight comes mostly from its silencers, designed to stay under noise thresholds: they absorb the S55's pulses before they reach the four outlets.

The two electric valves only change the picture when they open. Closed, they send the gases through each chamber, and the car, whose engine was designed for the track, keeps a very well-behaved voice for passers-by.

The Rog exhaust takes over this way of working and changes its dosage. Valves closed, the Competition hardly exceeds its factory level, precious for leaving an underground car park or setting off early on Sunday. Valves open, the gases bypass the chambers, and the S55 makes itself heard like under the bonnet of an M4.

Two electric valves and the M1 and M2 buttons

The M2 Competition comes as standard with two electrically controlled valves in its exhaust. At the wheel, the M1 and M2 buttons memorise two complete settings of the car, pre-programmed in Comfort and Sport, which the driver can change.

The Rog product page offers two ways of controlling the new exhaust. Choose Factory, and the exhaust is delivered ready to receive your two valves: your garage transfers them, then M1, M2 and the other settings keep managing them. Choose Rog, and valves already in place obey a small two-button remote, and keep the chosen position whatever the programme of the moment.

Four tips in black chrome

As standard, the Competition is recognised by its four black chrome exhaust tips, the signature of BMW Ms of its generation. The Rog exhaust keeps these four outlets, and it is up to you to choose their finish: Rog tips in chrome, gloss black or blued titanium, at no extra cost, or carbon tips with the M logo, as an option, in a forged, black or titanium-blended finish. The exhaust can also go without tips.

For the same design, titanium removes about 40% from the weight of stainless steel, a saving placed right at the rear of a short rear-wheel-drive car. It comes in brushed, gold or purple, with no price difference; 304 stainless steel keeps the colour of steel and a full sound.

What the Competition's product page covers

The cat-back starts at the outlet of the two downpipes, one per turbo, which carry the catalytic converter. These downpipes form the exhaust's front section, offered as an option under the name "Manifold": two sport catalytic converters to choose from, 200 or 100 cells, or no catalytic converter at all, which reserves it for the track.

With the cat-back alone, the S55 keeps its control unit and its 410 hp: the exhaust changes the voice, never the power. To go further, you need the downpipes and a remap, handled by a tuner. We make the exhaust from your VIN, then your garage fixes it with clamps and gaskets, without touching the body.

Configure your exhaust.

How the exhaust is put together

On the M2 Competition F87, the Rog cat-back begins at the outlet of the S55's two downpipes and joins the four tips, silencers and valves included. The downpipes themselves, one per turbo with its catalytic converter, make up the front section: the product page offers them as an option, under the name "Manifold".

Each choice explained in detail, from sound to material: How to configure your exhaust.

Three recommended configurations.

• Everyday coupé

  • Standard
  • Stainless steel
  • No manifold
  • Straight pipe
  • Factory valves

  For a Competition that goes out every morning: the S55 gains presence, the standard catalytic converters stay in place, and the M1 and M2 buttons keep control of the two valves.

  View this configuration

• Winding roads

  • Equal Length
  • Brushed titanium
  • 200-cell sports catalytic converter
  • Resonator
  • Rog remote

  For Sunday drives: a smoother and higher-pitched six-cylinder, a voice rounded by the resonator, and the valves opened at the press of a thumb.

  View this configuration

• Track days

  • Equal Length + Z-pipe
  • Purple titanium
  • Decat
  • Straight pipe
  • Rog remote

  Reserved for the track: the highest note we draw from the S55, no restriction at the front, a titanium that lightens the rear of the rear-wheel-drive car, and valves left open.

  View this configuration

From order to fitting.

VIN, manufacture, delivery, fitting and warranty, step by step

Questions.

Further reading.

• All our BMW M2 and M2 Competition F87 exhausts
• BMW M2 F87 with the N55 engine guide
• BMW M3 F80 / M4 F82 / F83 guide, the same S55
• Guide to the BMW M2 G87