The Wekfest LA car show has always been a more laid-back event for me. Usually, the Wekfest SF show kicks off the year and then the annual Eibach Honda event hits before the Wekfest LA show. By then, I’m pretty much beat up from all the shows and meets before WFLA and I just want to relax at a show. I typically have a Chronicles booth at both Wekfest SF and Eibach, and since Eibach is so close in proximity to WFLA, I won’t do a booth. While it is fun to make a couple of extra bucks by having a booth, I just prefer to take some time to chill out and enjoy the company of my fellow enthusiasts and friends. Booths are pretty hectic and it leaves both May and I very little time to have time to breathe so the WFLA is more of a social event for me than pure business. This year was no different. Though the Wekfest SF event is happening later in the summer and not in the early part of the year, I still decided to pass on having a booth. Eibach was the week before and was pretty stressful so I just felt like it would be a good idea to just cruise out to the show in my Q45 and display for SSR wheels and Falken Tire. They are two of my biggest supporters so I try to bring my car out to major events like WFLA to give back to them by displaying their product on my build….

What was great about the WFLA event was my late roll-in time, haha…We normally have to be at the event incredibly early to set-up but this time around, my roll-in time wasn’t until 9am, which is pretty late. I even woke up early to head down to Rywire to pick up my car and to watch the DPK guys get together for their caravan. Their roll-in was at 7am so I ended up just going home after I got my car and just hung out for awhile and relaxed until it was time for me to head down to Long Beach. When I arrived at the venue, more than half the show was set-up already and I just cruised right on in and parked. It was probably the most pain-free roll-in I had ever experienced in all my years of doing car shows…

Now the show itself, I think, was pretty great. The shows don’t differentiate too much year to year because the Wekfest staff has it down already and the show runs very smoothly. There aren’t really any major improvements you can make to make this show better because it is pretty good just the way it is. The quality of cars is always there since Wekfest has a rigorous screening process, and vendor support is always there. What I did notice this year was that foot traffic seemed to improve dramatically over the previous years. The line was longer, more people came out, and by the early afternoon, the show was pretty packed. I think the weather really helped with the spectators this year as well because it was a bit cooler than before. In the previous years I remember it being pretty hot but this year was cooler. The cool breeze from the picturesque Long Beach backdrop also helps but there wasn’t anything that was “unbearable” about the weather. The sun was beating down pretty harshly at certain points of the day but that is out of the hands of the event organizers. If you stayed in the shade and took breaks in between your walk around the show, you were probably comfortable throughout the day….

Overall, I had a great time. I just hung out and walked around without a care in the world and chatted with friends and other enthusiasts. The photos I think came out pretty good overall considering the harsh light from the sun. I really wanted to wait until later in the day to take photos but I was worried about running out of time so I just shot whatever I saw throughout the afternoon. I got a pretty good bulk of photos and I hope that you stick around to see all of them. Whenever I have the opportunity, I always try to display a more “personal” feel to these events and I think you will notice in the WFLA photos. Some of the faces you will be familiar with, some you won’t, by it should help you get a different perspective of the show other than just staring at car photos. Thanks to the Wekfest staff as always for throwing on a great event and I am really excited for the Wekfest event in Northern California. That’s always a good one but let’s all sit back and enjoy the photos from WFLA for the rest of the week. Enjoy…

If you are looking for Eibach Honda Meet 2013 coverage, they are in the previous posts prior to this specific posting…

The stunning back drop of Long Beach, CA always provides a great setting for the Wekfest LA event….

When I arrived in the morning, everybody seemed very relaxed and there was no stress at all associated with the set-up process of the event. Here, you can see Wekfest staff member ATS Mike Jones, Big Mike, and Preston from Function/Form having a chat…

After my hectic week trying to get my RA3 Odyssey ready for Eibach 2013, it was a relief just being able to jump into my Q45 and drive it into the event. DPK Jared came through with a mobile detailer the day before and the guy did a wonderful job of cleaning up our cars for the show. WFLA was probably the best my car has ever looked, haha…

Tony from It’s JDM Yo!! came through with my spot in the show so I planned to park with them throughout the show. Here are Karl and David’s Hondas that would be in our group for the day…

Airrunner had a nice display with a couple of bagged vehicles on hand with LBC in the distance…

Ken from Wek’Sos/Wekfest, Hiro Ueda from Japan, and Preston once again…

Rodrez, his wife Tes, and baby Maddox arrived early to check out the WFLA event. Rodrez likes to get coverage of the show before the spectators come in and Maddox loves to run around and stare at cars…

HeyMikeyyyy from Phaze2 decided to bring out his bagged LS430 to WFLA…

HeyMikeyyyy, Tina, and Yogi from Fatlace hung out inside the LS430 with the A/C on full blast…

The sun was blazing so I hopped inside to enjoy some A/C as well…

Even though Maddox is only 17 months old, we already noticed that he has a deep love of cars like his dad. One of his favorite things to do is just walk around and stare at moving cars. He can do it all day and having a wide open area with grass for him to roam around in was perfect…

He also loves his strawberries after running around…

I was parked in a random spot when I first parked but later moved to a better area once all the show cars finished rolling in…

Over at the Autofashion booth not too far away, we see Ojay’s Toyota Previa and Big Steve’s LS400 on display…

Steve and I always joke around about never bringing our cars out to any events, so it was pretty cool (and rare) to finally be at a show where we both had our cars…

Ojay’s Avanzare Previa on staggered Work Meister S1…

The SquadOne LS430 with full custom interior, one-off aero kit, and Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Seraph (Huntington Cruise) M45 owned by Dennis Kiyan…

Chris Ortez’s Infiniti G35 sedan build just continues to get better and better. It’s cool to see people continue to build their cars after they get their magazine features and not cash-out and part-out like a lot of guys out there…

Ortez was originally a Honda guy and you can definitely see the Honda-influence still in his G sedan build. He recently completed this custom Kurookie front bumper that has a carbon kevlar lower section much like the famed BackYard Special Integra Type R front bumper. It creates a very unique look for the G35 sedan and I also love what he did with the custom opening for his ARC intercooler…

The ARC intercooler is also a new addition because he recently went the forced induction route with Vortech supercharger…

I love the attention to detail in his build, all the way down to minor mods like these Top Secret hood dampers, that you probably wouldn’t notice unless you really paid attention…

His engine bay is one of the best in the G community and the supercharger makes it that much better. He recently had it tuned as well and I believe he said that new set-up makes around 380HP or so. Pretty nice numbers, especially when you take into account that this is his DAILY. Yeah, you read right, he drives this thing to work every day…

Down the same row of show cars was this newly debuting custom widebody Subaru BRZ, featuring an INGS+1 aero kit, SSR Professor MS3s, and custom flares shaped to flow seamlessly with the INGS kit. Danh from SSR/Tanabe stopped to chat with me and told me there there is still some stuff that needs to be corrected but they are pretty happy with the results so far. The rear wheel actually sits under the rear over fenders normally but in that particular area where they parked, the ground is uneven so it makes the BRZ sit kind of weird…

VeilSide Fortune widebody NSX from R-Rydes…

One of the coolest builds from the WFLA event was this FD3S RX-7 with supercharged GM LSx motor swap. I know a lot of purists won’t like the idea of ditching the Rotary engine in favor of an American LS swap but I think it makes for a unique package, especially since it is force-fed…

You guys will remember this Civic build from RC’s Garage in my Eibach 2013 coverage, but RC and crew once again made the trip out to California from Arizona for Wekfest…

Turbocharged DC5 RSX with a host of ALL-IN Fab components that also made an appearance the week prior at Eibach…

Slow Kuruma’s GTR was parked in an area that wasn’t the most favorable for photographs…

Mike Mao brought out his NSX with the addition of a new carbon air scoop…

Tony from It’s JDM Yo!! guiding him into his spot that wasn’t too far from the Wek’Sos booth…

Milt from Low N’ Slow’s 350Z on WED’s Kranze Vishunu…

Ken from Wekfest brought out his Junction Produce LS460 with custom front fenders by 515 Autobody…

In the Accuair booth with Ken’s JP LS460 was this Audi slammed on gold-plated VIP Modular wheels…

Josh from Wek’Sos Lexus IS350…

Prominently on display at the Canibeat booth was Marcus Cooke’s G35 sedan. Like Ortez, he has also recently gone the forced induction route with a supercharger kit…

Phaze2 Mizzark’s BMW M5 sedan on Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Noel Barnum’s Vertex/Rocket Bunny-equipped Scion FR-S build on Airrex air suspension…

ATS Mike Jones aka Mike Estebar’s EF hatchback from Norcal…

The Rywire E-AT was also in attendance at the WFLA show. In the background behind the fence was the line of spectators who awaited entry into the show…

DPK Dee Rail’s EM1 Civic Si coupe….

Dee Rail’s Honda Edition TA Volk CE28 wheels and Mugen Active Gate brakes…

Under the Fiber Images carbon hood is a K20 swap looking nice and tidy…

DPK David’s EJ1 Civic coupe, which is currently for sale, K-swap and all… If you want more info on the car, CLICK HERE for the for sale thread on NWP4Life…

Chuy from DPK’s new Integra Type R project on Spoon SW388 wheels…

Love how DPK Jared’s S2000 looks on bronze Mugen MF10 wheels. Jared would go on to have a pretty good day at Wekfest LA. You’ll find out why later on in the coverage…

Gonna cut it off here for today with a shot of DPK Carlos’ S2000 CR on white Mugen MF10. So much more to come as I finish going through the photos. Make sure to come back for more and as always, thanks for looking….