I live in Buffalo NY, and just took ownership of a 2017 JCW Clubman ALL4. (I also have a tuned 06 Cooper S convertible that gets stored for winter)

If you don't know, Buffalo is the jetstream end of Lake Erie. In winter, the non-frozen lake evaporates directly into snow clouds - which immediately dump as the jetstream pulls them over our frozen area, so we get snowfall that's measured in feet, not inches. It's not "snow" like you may know - our roads are regularly covered in snow and even ice, since it falls faster than road salt can melt it, faster than the plow trucks can plow it.

I always bolt on a set of snow tires for the winter, but my last car (a '17 Civic Sport Hatch that I had since new) also had a fancy knock sensor that allowed me to put cheap gas in it to retard the timing - to intentionally knock power down. It also had an "eco" mode. Both were a big help running skinny snow tires, to keep the front wheels from overpowering my traction, and letting me run circles around all-season-tire clad (and heavier) traffic.

Are there any tuning options that would let me either disable seasonally (less desirable), or disable/enable on the fly (more desirable - there's plenty of dry-road periods between snowstorms)?
Perhaps using the eco/mid/sport modes, or even a separate switch?
The plug-in type tuners I am considering "seasonal", since I'm not going to pop the hood throughout winter to install/uninstall a module - picture running late for work and after brushing a foot of snow off the car, remembering the module is still plugged in... popping the hood with frozen fingers and brittle plastic connectors... no. And that's if such a thing even exists as a good add-on tuner box.

I'd prefer the full benefit of a "full tune" (flash?) - especially since I hear tuning a JCW doesn't provide as much benefit as it does for the Cooper S models.
Are there any full tuning options that employ either a switch or the eco/mid/sport mode switch to have "no tune", "tune", and "aggressive tune" or something along those lines?
Anything for a pre-LCI JCW, to get anywhere close to an LCI JCW?

Who knows the options? Is this a @MarioKart thing? Or anyone's thing?

 

I posted in one of your other threads. Get in touch with @Lou@Prototype-R about tuning options. He can remap your "Sport" mode for max performance, and leave "Normal" mode at near stock levels. Then, come winter time, just keep the car in "Normal" mode when the roads get coated. Its much easier to remember NOT to put the car in "Sport" mode, than it is to remember "Did I remap the car?"

 

Yes - thanks, that definitely can work.
I was hoping an option like that existed - figured the mechanism is built into the car.
Granted, I don't know how the mapping underlying it all works, if that's just another layer on top of one "map", or if there's distinct maps for each (eco vs mid vs sport), but would be nice to have not just "lion" mode but also "mouse".

 

Lou does a complete recalibration, its not just a piggy back tune. He is a great guy, and more than willing to talk capabilities and options, even if you don't end up going with his option.