It can't be detonation.
I've detonated my engine hard twice after a fresh rebuild with no signs of damage.
I've torn the engine down due to unrelated problems, and the Mazda OEM apex seals are fine.
I'm even using the older 3-piece design.

We've killed motors under detonation, and it never kills the apex seals like that - at least Mazda OEM ones.
Most of the time, it chips the corners by the triangle assist piece.
Else, it cracks the apex seal in half vertically.

The Atkins apex seals are either very soft and can't take ANY detonation, or everyone that's telling you the seals died via detonation is full of ****.


-Ted

 

I bought a car with an atkins rebuild that look just like the ones on atkins website. I think it was detonation that killed the atkins seals in my engine, two of the corner seals were cracked pretty bad. The atkins seals are pretty weak. One cracked so bad that the top part of the seal actually came out of the seals and ate up the turbine wheel. I took one of atkins seals and you can actually bend them, and they stay bent. I tried bending a mazda one and it stays flat until it breaks. The dont bevel their exhaust ports. Their ports dont even look anywhere close to being the same. They dont blend the top of the intake port so when the trailing edge of the side seals goes over the top of the port it slowly wears out the edge of the side seal. I wonder whats the quality of their solid corner seals?

 

I wonder if the detonation was caused by hot spots forming on the edges of the apex seal as it slowly deteriorated over time? Sounds like the builder is at fault here and has admitted it, the next logical step is them compensating you in some part for the f*ck up.

-jb

 

I would agree^^^^ I would hit them with a "Corrective action" form. That will get the top quality mgr. involved. You would at least get something. I mean Why did yoou by from those guys??? becuase you were under the impression that you were getting better than average quality and you paid for it as well.........

You stepped up and paid, now its time they stepped up and earned that extra cash.

 

It's so obvious to me that the unchamferred port is the cause of that destroyed seal that I can't believe there is any argument at Atkins. They F'd Up the porting. Period! I cannot believe the frequency of half-assed work we find out about here from the supposed "experts" at the name rotary shops around the country. Really discouraging. Gotta learn to do it all yourself.

 

yeah, if they didnt edge the ports, thats their fault. its really obvious what broke that seal.

as far as atkins and detonation, a softer seal should take detonation better, assuming the material strenght was the same, because it would be more ductile and flex rather than break.

pat

 

That's a lesson I learned long ago thanks to my friends' misfortunes with paying people to do what a motivated person could learn by themselves.

Did your housings get chewed up in any way by that mistake? If not, the cost to put that all back to gether shouldn't be too bad, right? Just have to bevel that port as it should be, then get a couple of new seals. Do you think you'll go with Mazda OEM apex's this time around? I've done alot of pre-rebuild reading and it sounds like they're still the best you can get for street application.

 

I didn't want to chance using my rotors again incase they were out of spec in the grove. So, I traded my housings for a pair of S4 rotors and a front counterweight from that s4 engine.

I am going with new S5 housings.

Then for the seals I am going with RA seals and OEM springs.

We will see how that holds up

James