Tag Archive for ‘Wekfest’

Wekfest Los Angeles 2022 in Photos… Part 1…

Wekfest Los Angeles 2022 in Photos… Part 1…

Let me ask you a question…

How do you quantify style?

I think it is a very important question to ask when it comes to judging a car show. It’s the main reason why myself and others within the Wekfest group thought long ago that the old point-based system of deciding on the best car builds was obsolete. It’s a rudimentary system that doesn’t work in today’s age of automotive tuning. How do you assign points to style, to flow, execution? You simply cannot. That’s based on objectivity. It should be determined by those with the adequate experience and knowledge. Building an award-winning car should not be calculated on a numerical system. Numbers are formulaic, predictable. You can’t calculate good taste. That requires soul…
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Wekfest Los Angeles, New Wheels, A RARE JUN B18C, & More!!…

Wekfest Los Angeles, New Wheels, A RARE JUN B18C, & More!!…

It’s been non-stop lately with all these Wekfest events happening every other week. Feels like we just came back from San Jose and it’s already time for the Los Angeles show. Before that though, we stopped by Cafe 86 on 8/6 Day to hang out with our friend Kam and I finally found time to put my new wheels on the IS300. I’ve had these wheels sitting in Japan for over a year now and they’re finally here in the States! A day after the install, it was time for Wekfest Los Angeles. This stop is always filled with interesting cars of all types but the special focus at this event for me was Alex Alfaro’s Integra Type R. He always collects the rarest of parts for his ITR and this year, he pulled-up with a newly-built JUN Auto B18C engine with TODA ITBs and some wheels you absolutely must see!…
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Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 3…

Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 3…

It’s Friday already which means that tomorrow is already set-up and roll-in for the Los Angeles portion of the Wekfest 2022 tour. This schedule has been so jampacked that it feels like we have a show every other week. I say that knowing that in two weeks, we’re off to New Jersey for the East Coast stop. So yeahhhhh….it’s been busy. The positive side of heading to the East is that I have no car to worry about prepping or booth to run at the show. I get to just shoot and judge. California is so much more work because I’m involved with so many things and want to maximize on my opportunities at these big events. Next year might allot me more time to do even more though, because we’ve toyed with the idea of making the San Jose Super Show a TWO-DAY event. Yes, a car show that spans the entire weekend. I don’t know how that will work or what it looks like logistically…but it is definitely a very realistic idea. Whether it comes to fruition or not is another thing. We shall see. During the awards I asked the crowd of exhibitors and show-goers if a two-day event would be something they would be interested in and the response was overwhelmingly positive…
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Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 2…

Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 2…

Like last year, Wekfest San Jose was pretty packed. It’ll never get to the point of how it was back at Fort Mason, because this venue is much bigger, but it continues to grow even after 10+ years. We would never allow it to get as crowded as it was back when the show was at San Francisco because, frankly, it was pretty dangerous. Like, you couldn’t even breathe it was so damn packed back then. But, we didn’t know any better. Now we’ve all grown-up and just want everyone to be able to be comfortable in their own space while having the ability to enjoy the cars on display. Early in the morning, I was honestly a little worried because I thought that it would be tough to be the vibe from 2021. It was our first time back after the lay-off from the pandemic so everyone was excited to just be at one of the biggest car shows of the year. The energy just felt so different. There was excitement in the air…
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Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 1…

Wekfest San Jose 2022 in Photos… Part 1…

Every year around this time, everything seems to happen all at once. We go from not having any major car events to having them back-to-back. Sometimes events even overlap. After I got back from Japan, I thought things would be slow so I can catch-up on life but then I wake-up and it’s already time for Wekfest San Jose. This summer season just zooms by and at a blink of an eye, it’s already fall. I think it felt especially sudden this year because our San Jose event didn’t happen until much later in 2021. It hasn’t even been a calendar year and here we are again at the biggest Wekfest show of the season. Should I even mention that Wekfest Los Angeles is this weekend?? Talk about a time crunch. This year was especially stressful because Kristian and I were busy putting a car together…
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California Dreamin’ At Wekfest San Jose…

California Dreamin’ At Wekfest San Jose…

With the Battlecraft x Exceed GR86 together now, it was time for me to make the 6-hour drive up to San Jose for the annual Wekfest super show! Not only was I shooting and working the event this year, I also had to make sure to get the GR86 there for display. Our goal was to have this car showcased at the two biggest Wekfest events of the year so it was important for me to get the car to San Jose. The drive itself wasn’t so bad, but it definitely made me remember why I stopped driving so far for shows, lol. Being that it was such a hectic event, I didn’t have too much time to film during the show but I did manage to capture some of what happened behind-the-scenes. After I got back to Los Angeles after the show, I found out that there was another event to attend mid-week so I cleaned-up the GR once again and cruised over!
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A NEW Daily And The Battlecraft x Exceed GR86 Build Begins!!…

A NEW Daily And The Battlecraft x Exceed GR86 Build Begins!!…

Well, it’s that time! After collecting parts from Japan the last few months, we finally get to work on the Battlecraft x Exceed GR86 project! The original plan was to get the car done for the Wekfest San Jose event but we were a bit worried about getting the necessary parts from Japan in time. Not many people know this but the GR86 has also been gone for the last few months! Teardown on the car began as soon as we got it back and while that was going on, I was also looking to buy a new daily since my Honda Pilot has been giving me some problems…
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Wekfest Seattle 2022 Coverage… Part 2…

Wekfest Seattle 2022 Coverage… Part 2…

I really thought I would have had this second part up early this week but with so much going on lately, it’s been difficult to sit down and type out the rest of this post. I had to squeeze in a few hours the last couple of nights just to finish. One of the first things I had to do this week was find a new daily driver. The Honda Pilot I have started giving me some transmission issues lately and I just don’t trust driving it around anymore because I don’t want to get stranded on the highway in this heat. Ironically, I was heading to a gig for Honda when it happened and I wasn’t exactly close to home so I took it as a sign to get another car. After that I had the grand unveiling of the brand new FL5 Honda Civic Type R event to attend and I’m glad I found a car rather quickly because the reveal happened in a completely different part of Los Angeles. While all that was going on, Kristian and I have been busy putting the Battlecraft GR86 together because our plan was to get the car to Wekfest San Jose next week…
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Wekfest Seattle 2022 Coverage… Part 1…

Wekfest Seattle 2022 Coverage… Part 1…

Wekfest Seattle came outta nowhere this year it seems. It hasn’t even been a year yet since we last had an event in the Pacific Northwest but due to scheduling and a venue change, there wasn’t much of a choice than to come back a little earlier than expected. I didn’t mind though. For me, returning from a month-long stay in Japan left me with a bit of a hangover effect. I was so used to seeing so much cool shit there that I was worried it would leave me a bit jaded when I came back to the U.S. Having the first Wekfest event of the year in Seattle worked-out perfectly for me because this area always churns out some high-quality car builds. Obviously it wasn’t Japan, but hell, the PNW knows what they’re doing so I was ready to get back on the road to see some cars…
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Back Home But On The Road Again For Wekfest Seattle!…

Back Home But On The Road Again For Wekfest Seattle!…

The Japan content was great and it was amazing to be out there for a whole month, but I have to remind myself that I have a life here at home in California. After returning home, I received some unsettling news that our brand new Voltex wing for our GR86 might have been damaged by UPS!! So Kristian and I finally open-up the box to see what was happening inside. A few weeks after, I was right back on a plane once again as I headed to Seattle for the first major Wekfest event in the U.S. It was July 4th weekend so we made the most of it too, enjoying to sights and of course, the food! Unfortunately, I was so busy that I didn’t film nearly as much as I would have liked. Instead, I spent most of my time covering the cars that I liked the most from this year’s Seattle Wekfest show.
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