(L-R: Mick, Bob Schroedter Jr., Mike Lindquist, Bob Schroedter Sr.)
It was an incredible finish to a trying season for the Schroedters, Bob and Bob Jr., as well as their driver, Mick. It was a year of shakedowns and testing, turbo upgrades and tuning.
The Schroedters had been running their turbo EK coupe for several years. They had been using the same engine - a modified turbo B16, still displacing 1.6 liters, but with substantial boost. The problem was, they knew the car had the potential for much faster times than they had been running, but they just couldn’t get there. After many frustrating trips down the strip, Bob Sr. knew some changes were in order, so he picked up a new turbo and some additional parts and gave our service manager Mike Lindquist a call.
Once Mike and Bob Sr. ironed out the details, the EK and its new parts were brought to King and handed over to our head fabricator and tuner, Tim. With input from Mike, Bob Sr. also decided to upgrade the axles to Driveshaft Shop 5.9’s as well as a Twin Disc Kit from Competition Clutch. Tim re-fabricated the entire turbo setup and installed a Borg-Warner 362. He also re-engineered the fuel system, including the installation of a fuel cell.
With the mechanicals ironed out, Tim strapped the car onto King's DynoJet and went to work on the electronics. Trying to squeeze major power out of a B16 running GSR cams was a bit of a challenge, but Tim was up to the task. By tuning the Hondata S300 to run the motor with 33 lbs. of boost, the upgrades were good for an impressive 581 WHP AND 358 ft. lbs. of torque.
With Mike's many years of success running an all-motor B-Series EG hatch, he had valuable knowledge and driving experience to offer, so for the post-upgrade shakedown runs, Bob Schroedter asked Mike if he would pilot the Coupe to see what it could do. Mike agreed of course, and having never driven the car before, ran a 10.786 @ 133.70 MPH - the first 10-second pass ever for the EK.
With the final Import Wars only a few weeks away, the Schroedters and Mick took every opportunity to get familiar with their improved car - and it paid off, big time. Running 10.8's @ 135 MPH, they won the Super Quick class at Great Lakes Dragaway’s final Import Wars as well as the Super Quick overall championship. An incredible ending to a tough year.
Bob Schroedter: "I can't thank King Motorsports, Tim and Mike enough for all of their help. We knew the car had more potential, and Mike proved it with its first 10-second run." "In addition, our team appreciates King's involvement and we are really looking forward to working with King again next year." Said Mike, "That car is fast! - we're also looking forward to continuing King's involvement. We're currently working on plans for more upgrades over the winter that should allow the car to turn the corner and run in Pro FWD next season."
Editor's Note - This is a comment posted on King's Facebook page by Bob Sr.:
"There is a lot more to this story...First the 10.78 pass Mike drove was on pumped up slicks, not hitting target boost in second gear and Mike hitting second gear and the ass end breaking, but he stayed on it. There was and is more in the b16 in terms of et and mph but I made the decision to move on. We would like everyone to know that these guys are no BS: Mike, Tim and King. Stay tuned for the new build it should be a good RIDE!!!"
