The Midwest has always had an interesting car community. I mean, every area has its own little unique things about it but Chicago and the surrounding areas is different in a way that sets it apart from the powerhouses on each end of the country. The East and West continues to execute from their own dynamic perspectives but the Midwest is a bit of a mix but in  a way where it is unlike anything else, if that makes sense. Many of the top tier Honda builds in middle America resemble some of the better Honda builds in the country but they have a heavy emphasis on more traditional style cues using Mugen and Spoon components. I think King being out there has a lot to do with it but the classic Mugen brand name still holds a huge influence out there. With Hondas, there seems to be a dedicated group of enthusiasts out there who just stay in their own little pocket, collecting every rare part you can find from year’s past and don’t pay any mind to all the crazy widebody, bolt-on flares and air stuff that runs rampant in our community right now. These guys like what they like and they stick to it, which is very admirable. I was surprised actually by how little Civics and Integras were in attendance at this year’s Wekfest Chicago event. More surprising was the abundance of NSX builds. It almost seemed like there were more NSXs in the building than Integras or EG/EK (or similar chassis) Civics. The rest were newer Civics and TSX/Accords, probably due to the younger group of car guys just getting into their first or second builds…

What I did notice was that it seemed as if about 70-80% of the cars at the show were on air suspension. Which means that either air suspension has become incredibly accessible to everyone (True) and/or the roads are so fucked in this area that it is totally necessary to have air to maneuver around….also true. I noticed that air is pretty prevalent on the East Coast as well and that also makes total sense because the roads and the harsh winters are literal car-destroyers. Whatever the case may be, air suspension is every where, bolt-on flares have still not died in popularity yet, and I found myself running around that afternoon looking for hidden gems like Syviengchan’s silver RHD NSX, which you will see in today’s post. The great thing about attending car shows out in this area and on the east coast is that people are totally down to make the trek from surrounding states to participate and attend events. You don’t see that as much out in the West, probably because Cali is such a huge state and more people outside of the area just tend to fly in to check out the shows before deciding to bring their cars out. One of the best show cars in the country right now, Jason Pham’s S15 Silvia from Team EMOTION, made the long-haul all the way from Virginia just to compete and to defend its “Car of the Festival” crown. How cool is that? I talked to plenty more enthusiasts that day that weren’t even anywhere near Illinois and still drove out to check out the show. That’s exciting because it shows that people care. I really like the fact that people are traveling often now to see what else the country has to offer. It helps the growth of the car community overall and hopefully fuels competition long-term for better overall car builds…

This year’s Wekfest Chicago event was good, but I think there is still so much room for growth. I’ve been out to that area a couple of times now in the last few years and I’ve seen many more cars that are more than capable of competing with this crop of Wekfest participants. I’m happy to see people like Ginash from JDMChicago and the crew from TF-Works/Touge Factory, who continue to push the community forward in that area and help to set a certain standard of quality for car guys/gals to build towards. Every area needs its staple of enthusiasts and its good to see them from year to year…

The summer is starting to get pretty crazy so I plan on being out at many more events in the next few months. Maybe I’ll even host a little gathering here at the office to get people out of the house to enjoy some cars, who knows. Check out Part 2 of the coverage below…

These new Accords are looking pretty great straight out of the dealership nowadays. Many are going the “luxury sport” route with these and do more elegant modifications like a simple lip kit, big wheels, and air suspension, which is probably the best route for these type of cars. Sometimes you see some over-done ones with a little too much going on and then you have some like the example above, just simple and straight to the point. This one even has a paint-matched front deflector piece and matched window visors which give it that added detail touch. I dig it and I see more of these at shows in the future…

Tim Tannhauser’s bagged Subaru Forester STI on Work Meister S1 wheels from Vaded Mob looking good in gray…

Here’s another look at the TF-Works time attack S14 240SX with the huge custom front-splitter added after it was parked at their display booth…

Just the size of it is insane, especially in person with multiple arms constructed to hold it in place with brackets underneath for reinforcement…

Under the hood of the S14 is a traditional SR20DET swap with a Garrett turbo upgrade and custom intake manifold…

While running back and forth between the roll-in area and show area, I spotted this Acura TL running a huge drag slick up front along with a huge front-mount intercooler peeking out behind the opening of the front bumper…

Perhaps my favorite build of the Wekfest Chicago event this year was this silver imported RHD Honda NSX. It looked amazing with the Advance aero kit and 16/17-inch staggered bronze Mugen MF10 wheels…

Exposed under the rear bumper was a super rare Saclam dual exhaust along with the carbon air duct on the rear hatch. Saclam and its owner has long had ties with Mugen and the development of many of their engine components and their stuff, though largely unknown outside of Japan, is highly sought-after by only the most diehard Honda enthusiasts worldwide…

Joel Zabel’s Marga Hills-kitted NA1 NSX on WEDS Sport wheels. Nice touch with the black accents on the kit to offset the white accents on the wheels…

This vinyl-wrapped Z33 was running a custom front splitter, canadards, side splitters, and Mercury Z Project over fenders….

Super clean 4A-GZE powered 1982 Toyota Starlet wearing TRD N2 aero kit and over-fenders…

Nice vanity plate on Corey Hasler’s widebody Lotus Exige running a Voltex rear wing and Advan SA3R wheels….

AP1 S2000 wearing a J’s Racing front half bumper and black Advan Racing wheels…

Another shot of Syviengchan’s NSX. For those of you unaware, he used to also own a black Integra Type R that was pretty great as well. Nice upgrade with the NSX, I guess you can say…

Can’t get over how great the staggered MF10s look, especially with the 16×8 up front with the meaty tire…

This iridescent purple, let’s just call it Midnight Purple because that’s probably what it is, Infiniti G37 coupe from Vaded Mob looked pretty great with molded Liberty Walk widebody kit and SSR Professor SP3 wheels…

The engine bay of the G37 also looked great running some custom titanium intake pipes, an ARC breather set-up and Top Secret cosmetic accessories…

Jody from Vaded Mob’s widebody Subaru WRX STI, also on SSR Professor SP3…

Some nice additions under the hood with the custom turbo piping and hood-dump, along with the Process West intake manifold which has been coated a copper hue…

Spoon-themed DA Integra with a carbon front lip, Mugen sideskirts, and Spoon SW388 wheels paired with Spoon Sports front brakes…

Yellow B-series valve cover to go with the Spoon-theme throughout, along with Spoon radiator hoses, carbon kevlar wire cover, oil cap, radiator cap, and reservoir sock….

Rick Vargas’ 550HP turbocharged Honda Civic CX on 16-inch white Desmond Regamaster EVO wheels…

Fully-built 2.0L B18C GS-R swap running a Precision 6266 turbocharger…

It was nice to see Chef Andre’s long-term RHD EF8 CR-X SiR build. He had a Civic a couple years back that was also pretty nice but this CR-X is perhaps his best work yet…

Snuggly tucked into the shaved engine bay of the EF8 is a soon-to-be turbocharged K-series engine swap with a polished Skunk2 Ultra intake manifold and a catalog of K-Tuned pieces….

This RHD Honda NSX was just recently imported into North America and wore this custom widebody kit, Project Mu brakes, Rays Gram Lights wheels, and custom carbon side mirrors…

Beefing-up the C32 engine is a Paxton supercharger…

The rear of the NSX features a carbon rear wing, trunk wing, rear diffuser, and quad-tipped dual exhaust set-up…

After all the cars were finally parked and set-up for the show, I was finally able to get a closer look at the Acura TL from earlier…

As it turns out, the TL ran a fat slick up front because it is actually set-up for drag racing with a custom turbo set-up, including that huge custom intake manifold and if I remember correctly, the TL has a dog-box transmission as well to help lay down the power.

Kay’s Advance NSX was probably the last car to roll-in that morning due to him having too much gas in his tank but he did make it in just in time. Here you can see the Recaro seats inside, along with the Magical Racing carbon side mirrors…

This Saclam Spec A Silencer Kit exhaust system is just under 4 grand, the last time I checked….

Another of the Marga Hills NSX from earlier. Love the digital camo under the hood….

Wrapping it up with one of the most interesting participants this year, the Widerstandsfahig Porsche 944 race car, which ended the day winning the “Exotic of the Festival” award…

That’s a wrap on this one. Not really sure what’s coming up next but there is plenty happening in the next few months so I’m sure the content flow will be coming in consistently. Thanks for looking and keep track of all updates on all our social media outlets!…