After two long weeks of trying to get a deal done on a car that I could not see in person because it was in Chicago and I'm in Buffalo, it and stressing over delivery.
I'd already installed Bimmercode on this laptop and BootMod3 - already have the cables - not that I have been anticipating and planning or anything.

It's here! Showed up yesterday.






Size comparison to my R52 S


The R52 S is a manual transmission, and I have a larger rear sway bar, 16% reduced pulley on the supercharger, and a good tune on the ECU on that one.

The JCW is replacing a Civic hatch that I loved but was totaled by an inattentive driver - so this is an automatic like that was, about the same size, layout - this has some nice upgrades. I'm hoping I'm not going to regret the automatic - I've made one commute to work so far and it's clear that I have some figuring out to do.

But so far, right off the bat - I love it already.

 

Looks great!

 

Love it! My office is in Rochester, but we also have an office in Buffalo, and often head out that way. I'll keep an eye out for you on the road!

 

Nice options F54 JCW.

 

Thanks - already have two orders from ECS on the way-
Those JCW-clone Alzor wheels, which I'll swap these tires onto (these ones have a couple curb scratches - so I'll put the snow tires on these ones).
The NBT version of the Bremman Android Auto kit - still nervous but I believe all signs point to this being the NBT..

And I bought the JCW wheel center caps - I'm optimistic that I can make a 3D printed adapter so they snap into the Alzor wheels. Not positive, but optimistic

 

Very cool - likewise.
Although, to be fair, I hope you aren't on the road where/when I'm usually on the road... that stretch of Rt.90 between Orchard Park and Amherst is ludicrously brutal. Glad I work from home all but two days per week.
The drive from Rochester to Buffalo I'm sure is nice and generally peaceful - until you hit that spot.

 

I hate that section of I-90

 

I have a 2017ALL4 Clubman S. Have done the Dinan Stage 1 Tune (good for S or JCW model) and highly recommend this if you want to maximize your performance experience. It does require you to pull the ECM and sent it to Dinan. It's' worth the money. Also, if you like to carve corners, a popular mod is the NM rear sway bar with end links. Helps the car rotate a lot better when cornering. Have had mine 7 years now and still love driving it everyday.... and is is extremely quick and fast (seen 130+ with much more to go)....enjoy!

 

Thanks for that suggestion. I did the fat rear sway bar on my R52S and that was a fun addition for Auto crossing. I will do some browsing and shopping - I'm sure it'll be easier on these than it was with my R52 with all the convertible bracing that was trapping the bar!

What was the sway bar you got? is the NM the Neuspeed stuff?

I'm shopping for a tune right now - I'm hearing that the S's gain like 70hp but the JCWs only gain like 30hp. That's not nothing, but definitely weighing my options. I'll use the BM3 software to figure out if a DIY tune without shipping my ECU is possible, but if I need to then maybe I'll wait until next spring when I get my R52 S back on the road so I can drive that while my car is ECU-less. I've heard good things about DINAN and BM3 - I kind of like the idea of the BM3 leaving the door open for other tunes also.

On that Dinan, can you revert (temporarily!) back to stock tune?