Wekfest Journey - 2010 // Part 2 //

Saturday Pre-party started at Sonic MS in Mountain View. Platinum VIP, VIP Modular wheels, and all of the SF Crew cars gathered the entire day shooting the breeze and prepping for the event. Many that drove the night before got hit by the crazy storm on the way up from Socal. Darwin was the master host, opening his doors, bays, tools to anybody that needed to do last-minute fixes. Some cars were adjusting coilovers, others were in fix mode like this Q45 with 22" custom wrinkle black VIP Modular wheels.



VIP Modular owners were present with their hellaRad late model Q45. This thing had a custom white paint job with ruby red flakes, 22" inch custom finished VIP wheels, custom aero kit, coilovers w/Phantom Cups, and a custom burgundy cross-stitched interior. Hawt was an understatement.











SF Crew was present. This E-class was just completed. Darwin and the boyz at Sonic created the first frame-dropped E-Class. This car originally came with the OEM air struts. Once ditched, custom UAS bags were mounted to Blistein shocks for the ultimate ride. The drop is insane. Even the Socal boyz were amazed.






But this pre-party was indeed planned to debut one special car. Platinum VIP have been working on an all metal widebody gen2 GS Aristo. The owner was a businessmen that traveled from Socal to Florida. He too was present to witness the debut of his deeply invested project. When Kennedy and his crew rolled by, it was a site to see. First, Kennedy's person gen1 Aristo was enough to ask hours of questions, then the widebody gen2 came up on a trailer. This was the outcome:

















One word: Insane.

To give you an idea on how wide this car was, the wheels under the rear fender arches are 21x14s..!! All custom metal fabrication just like the good old Hot Rod days, Kennedy has raised the bar very high in custom body work. The car is rocking a widened Aim Gain aero kit with a full custom stitched interior to match. Full coilovers and Phantom Cups on all four corners take care of ride and clearance. The 2JZGTE chrome motor did not make it in-time but was at the shop waiting to be dropped-in.

Notice the widened rear doors. They even relocated the door handle to fit the new metal body. Back-in-the-days, you would see door handles sunk deep into the original location on wide-bodied cars. Not today. Kennedy has worked countless hours to ensure this quality of craftsmanship.

Although amazing, I did have a hard time accepting the newly widened front fenders. In my opinion, it doesn't match the rear. The front fender looks almost like an afterthought. But, besides that this build was one-of-a-kind.

Look out for Platinum VIP this season as they continue to push the fabrication limits to new heights.

This car took top honors of Best VIP.



Back to the Story:

Wekfest came to an end, when the fire marshall shut-down the show and asked everyone to go home. It was the moment we all dreaded. People were still lined up outside trying to get into the last bit of the show. But, city codes and safety rules are more important and cramming 25k people in an low ceiling, underground parking garage with 450 show cars truly is not the greatest idea. Let's hope Wekfest do not get fined by the city, but one thing forsure.. we need a new location next season.

Wekfest Journey - 2010 // Part 1 ////

The annual Wekfest event has been a Bay Area favorite since its' grassroot days ran by another organization. Today with the end of the corporate giant, HIN smaller local shows have given a push by hungry show car owners to go BIG. Wekfest 2010 was exactly that.

Yes, there were so many people trying to get into the poorly ventalated underground parking structure for a glimpse of HIN flavor. What they got was the best of the best in the Import turner scene plus the eye candy and lots of good attractions and food upstairs.

Like every year, I am trusted to judge the Lexus and VIP category. This year was the largest presence by Lexus ever which made the judging process more difficult. Many of the Socal owners made the trip including AutoFashion and Platinum VIP. It's funny, when Socal shows up, Norcal cars just cannot compete. Hate it or not, it's a fact.

Jowe and Mike from Auto Concepts were able to bring up one of the Gold Top Secret Supras from Socal. From rain storms to dead batteries to getho rigging Silvia S14 wipers just to drive thru the storm, those 2 had one crazy weekend. But it was all worth wild. They came and saw Goodguys first hand and had the pleasure of helping me fix my wheel fitment problem. Next a nice welcome party and dinner was provided by the folks at Club Lexus and they walked away with the Best Supra and Best Engine bay award. Trust me, winning 2 awards at Wekfest is very unlikely. Being a judge, we spread the love.

This car is very popular and have toured the scene for many years now. The owner actually has another Gold Top Secret Supra with an entirely different kit and mods. The word is Supra #3 is in the works.

Being able to see the car up-close with all the time on Saturday helped me realize the patience and dedication poured into this car. From custom carbon kevlar door panels by Seibon to the Roberuta CUP air suspension sitting on Top Secret coilovers, this car is truly bad ass. Seeing it inside the GG HQ warehouse with all the classic Domestic hot rods in the background were a fresh experience. Congrats for the win and thanks for joining us at Wekfest.

1st Place Supra and Best Motor





Besides working for Wekfest, each year I bring Goodguys presence into the event and let me tell, this year was like none other. Last year, I drove the companies '70 El Camino. It was good, but many of the kids just don't know the '70s era with muscle cars. So, how about a '61 Lincoln Continental from the movie Matrix. Black on black, suiside doors, dropped on solid face billets with fat whitewalls. The moment I rolled the Gangsta-Beast around the Japantown garage, all the kids broke necks saying "oh-shittttt..." Cameras took pictures like I have never witnessed before. This Lincoln stood out like a sore thumb inside an all Import show and it connected with that demographic at that very moment.

One of the first person to flip-over the car was my old friend Antonio from MotorMavens. He walked up on the street and started snapping pix. Infact he blogged it on his site here: MotorMavens. As I rolled into the entrance, kids stood still with amazement and the grand presence of the once popular car that JFK owned.

Goodguys ran a simple booth with 2 banners and a table full of Gazettes and event information for the new season. I had a good friend help out. Chris ran the booth while I was running around judging the 450 cars. Chris was so damn good at PR, he gave away all 500 copies of the Gazette, bags, event flyers, and pocket schedules in 45 minutes into the show. Amazing. The man is a machine. Chris so happened to be the owner of the LS460 build a few months back. Look at it this way, now he's helping me out.

Overall, Goodguys delivered what we intended to do and that was to continue to create awareness in a pond not quite familiar to our culture. The kids loved it, there are images of the Lincoln all over the net.









Another friend that drove all the way from SoCal was Guillermo from GPR Auto. Guillermo has been a long time Lexus member with his ever changing gen1 IS300. Again, he did not disappoint with one crazy Animal-theme. Just like the the Top Secret Supra, he too had plenty of drama driving the car from SoCal. Saturday while at Sonic MS, I get a call from him about hitting a pot-hole at a car wash in the city that caused the ultra stretched 215 to pop-off the 18x10s. What happened was the side wall cracked and new tires had to be purchased at Pep Boys. Darwin @ Sonic played host to many shops and crews that needed last minute fixing or adjustments before the event on Sunday. Like a champ, Darwin bought beer for everyone and opened his shop for everyone to use for free. More on that later.

Once the tire was fixed Guillermo and his boyz went out exploring the city until the event on Sunday morning. By noon Sunday another tire was bald and another trip to replace the tired was needed. But, being creative and extreme comes at a price and he knows it. That's why 2 sets of wheels were brought up. One to drive on and for the show. Parked next to the Top Secret Supra, the Animal caused such a roar with onlookers. It was nothing they have ever experienced before.

Keep up the creativity and never look back. Thanks for making the trip.

1st Place IS category

Wekfest by Studio Mountain

WEKFEST Car Show - San Francisco, Ca - Japan Town 2010 from studio mountain on Vimeo.

This video sums up one crazy weekend. Nice job Studio Mountain! - s

Wekfest 2010

Wekfest invades Japantown once again in SF. The annual event has been going strong for over 10 years and this year will probably be the greatest of all time. Due to the slow death of HIN, showcars just don't have shows to attend so they search out any grassroot even nearby. Wekfest 2010 will house a huge number of award winning show cars from previous publication features to trophy collecting cars. But the main core of the show are truly dedicated to the grassroot builders b/c once, a long time ago, we all started with a intake, header and exhaust with the latest Powered by Honda decal and we thought we were the sh*t.

So, next Sunday, Feb 28th.. come be apart of history as Wekfest and the Norcal tuner scene turn another chapter to the ongoing saga at Japantown SF.

SF Wekfest

JOB Design: Genius at Work

It was 5 years ago, the VIP scene here in the US was little to none. Most ClubLexus members still preferred brands like Rod Millen and TEIN. I was lucky enough to stumble onto a new aero company in Japan under the name JO BLOOD.

JO has built his reputation in the Japan VIP scene with his extreme-dropped and custom kitted demo cars ranging mainly from the Lexus/Toyota family. He actually rocked a Mercedes CL500 and those that know, to have a German car in Japan is basically baller status.

Many do not know, but JO is actually a contractor by trade building houses and buildings. The car side is purely for fun and has developed into a full service custom shop and known world wide. Customers can literally drop-off their cars and in a week, JOB Design can transform the boring stock lines into a over the top aggressive low & wide machine.

I respect JO b/c he actually does all the design and development work himself. The concept is literally in his head. He makes a simple paper drawing and translates the idea to 3D reality with his hands. He is old school! Not many designer today can actually do this. To me, JO is in the same books of the legendary great like Foose and Boyd here in the US Hot Rod world.

Here you see JO designing his latest Hybrid bumper onto the ever popular UCF30 Celsior platform. His unique blend in style is apparent to where he gains inspiration. What makes JO different from the other VIP tuners is his ability to combine the best of ideas, trends and style from multiple automotive cultures all over the world.

Now 5 years later, I have personally seen JO continue to develop new aero styles into his cars and unlike many other VIP brands, he will continue to evolve while the rest is old news.

JOB Design Bigger, Better in 2010

Swang n' Bang: A little bit..

Goodguys X JOBlood X VIP Syle mag

Every year, I catch up with JO at SEMA. Last year was no different. I had sent some build pictures of a crazy 1 off Corvette by Roadster Shop a few months before SEMA. When news came that the car was to be in the Goodguys booth, JO said he wanted to see the car up close and meet the owner and builder. No problem. JO was the only person allowed to even sit in this car at SEMA.

Thanks for the feature in VIP Style! See you again at SEMA 2010.

LUMMA CLS 730 RS Package for the BMW M5 E60

As result a car that uses all 730 horsepower of a bi-compressor V10 to spread a limit speed of over 367 km/h (228 mph). The 700 Nm of torque helps the car go 0-100 km/h time in 4.2 seconds, feat 200 km/h in just ten seconds. 300 km/h is achieved in 29.5 seconds.

The companies petition this is the “most energetic engine” ever seen on a “highway-lawful BMW.” It is surely an enormous development over Lumma’s CLR 500 RS released in 2007. That car saw a “measly” 560 horsepower.

Lumma Design’s own six-piston front, four-piston rear caliper brakes are worn along with drilled 405mm discs. Ultralight, three-portion pretend 10×21 and 12Jx21 wheels at the nose and tail look great on the 45mm lowered car.

The style package includes carbon fiber boot and bonnet, and the matter is also worn for the door handles, admission sills, fenders, and mirror caps. Designers also replaced the exhaust system. Inside, carbon integrity, leather, and suede is worn gratuitously. Hopefully, the paint scheme selected inside is customizable, as something more faint than the contrasting red, fair, dusk grey would probably feel more appropriate.

LUMMA Design

VÄTH Performance Mercedes CL 65 AMG

The VÄTH claims that with this package, the CL65 AMG can go from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in just 4.0 seconds and reach speeds of up to 340 km/h or 211 mph. Even more impressive is the price of the kit that will cost you as much as a new C-Class at a hefty €36,890 or about US$53,100, including installation.

Other available performance mods include a sports braking system with 6 piston fixed calipers and 405 mm disks priced at €8,082 (US$11,600), 20-inch alloy wheels with Vredestein tires for speeds up to 270km/h or 168mph at €7,378 (US$10,600) and a lowering module for the airmatic suspension priced at €1,952 (US$2,800).

Adding the 20-inch alloys with Vredestein high-performance winter tires for speeds up to 270km/h or 168mph at €7,378 (US$10,600), while 6-piston caliper brakes with 405 mm disks adds a much higher pricetag. The calipers, disks, and steel-flex tubes with racing fluid go for €8,082. And a lowering module for the airmatic suspension priced at €1,952 (US$2,800).

External enhancements are limited to a subtle body kit with a carbon fiber front apron and rear diffuser fins, and boot lid and roof spoilers, which cost together €3,188 or about US$4,600.

VATH Tuning

2010 Goodguys Giveaway: BOSS SNAKE

Warrendale, Pennsylvania’s Redline Performance Motorsports (RPM), builder of Bill Steele’s 2009 Hot Rod of the Year and a shop full of other groundbreaking hot rods, customs and street machines have taken over the build of the Goodguys BOSS SNAKE 2010 Grand Prize Giveaway Car. The BOSS SNAKE will make its grand debut at the Goodguys 1st Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona March 12, 13 & 14, 2010 at Westworld.

We just received word that Jon Kaase Racing Engines has completed the engine featuring Billet Specialties, Tru-Trac and COMP CAMS components to make over 770 hp. Wow!

RPM will now begin massaging the Dynacorn body designed by Keith Kaucher in the coming weeks as well as working on the car’s final assembly. Stay tuned for more updates and plan on attending the brand new Goodguys Spring Nationals next March in Scottsdale to see the BOSS SNAKE up close!

Project sponsors include: Vintage Air, Classic Instrument, Painless Performance, BFGoodrich, Flaming River, Ricks Hot Rods, Dynacorn, Baer Brakes, Tremec, Optima Batteries, Herculiner, PEAK, Grundy Insurance, Flowmaster Exhaust, Comp Cams, and Performance Rod & Custom.

Nigel: Engineered to Slide

These guys are killin-it with Hella fresh Silvias, flush stance, static drop, creative jive.

check 'em out: Engineered to slide

Performance VW 2009 Cars of the year

There's not many magazines that I actually look forward to every month. Seems like most of the Source Media Interlink publications have all fallen into a generic state of crap. Unlike the US mags, almost every oversea publications have continued to kick-ass with bright white and thick stock, excellent photography, great content and story. Performance VW is just one of many magazines I get a month. Why am I talking about this magazine today..?

Pick one up at your local B&N and you will understand.