Hello NAM! Now that I'm the happy owner of a new 2010 factory JCW, I feel sufficiently qualified to join up and perhaps even participate where I can. As a lurker (prior to ordering, during the initial build, etc), I found NAM to be very helpful in providing me with hours of entertainment, satisfaction of various neuroses, and information from which to draw as I researched options, upgrades, etc... So a big thank you to everyone here!

That said, I hope to be able to contribute myself with whatever new info I come accross. I'll start by sharing what I've discovered during the installation of the Quaife ATB... but I will post that in the appropriate forum.

A quick anecdote: Within (literally) the first 8 miles off the lot, the clutch exploded in a cloud of tasty smoke. I was still quite close to the dealer, and with much hand-wringing and profuse apology, they towed the car back and replaced the clutch under warranty. All that it cost me was excitement and a few days of extra waiting, and I managed to use the opportunity (tranny removed) to install the differential. Failure was blamed on the clutch itself -- a bad one that snuck past quality control, or whatever. But after this initial false start, all seems to be going well... and considering the silver lining, I couldn't be happier.

Remaining specs of the car are obliquely gestured at in my signature. I am prepared to receive both barbs and praise, and any advice anyone wishes to offer regarding continued/future upgrades... and I'm generally looking forward to being a member of this community!

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum, well 8 miles and a clutch explosion, wow. Glad you have a good attitude, I probably would have been miffed. Good luck in the future.

 

Congrats on the JCW and welcome to NAM.

 

Oooh! I should add that I have the factory take-off 17" JCW Challenge Spoke wheels + tires sitting in the garage... since I put on the R113s. I haven't decided whether to keep them or sell them yet... but if you want to try to persuade me one way or the other, feel free to PM me. If I do decide to sell them, I'll post that in the right forum... but I'll obviously give preferential consideration to the earliest interest.

 

Congrats & Welcome. Sounds like you took a little lemon and made lemon-ade. Good for you! So refreshing from the typical **** & moan club any time anything goes wrong with someone's car. We all hate car trouble but they are man-made mechanical objects that at times have issues.

Can't wait to see some pics of your MINI...

 

Wow a 2010 JCW, a new forum member and already sporting some fantastic mods ! You didn't waste any time

Glad to have ya here and looking forward to your postings

 

Thanks for the warm welcome, all!

Yes, gRay rAvEn... Its true... I didn't waste any time once I finally pulled the trigger, but rest assured a long time was spent in preparation. Plus, I got to take advantage of several cash-saving opportunities (big discount on the Bilsteins, a lot of free labor) that made it all come together much quicker than initially anticipated. All in all, I feel quite lucky that things worked out as they did, without breaking the bank.

Thanks again!