Does any cmpany make good after market side seals? I've been readin a lot on apex seals but no one realy seams to talk about side seals. Oem sides shaters like oem apex seals do Right? Also how often do tiny oem side seals survive detonation?

 

Honestly, If I was building a 500-1000+ hp engine, Id Use stock mazda side seals.

Hardness, weight, sealing, wear, its all a trade off. A good tune, proper redundancy and worry about "blowing up" gets pretty small.

To answer your question tho, in 8 years of messing with these things, never seen a vendor that makes them.

 

Please keep it to one thread.

Side seal failure is quite rare.

 

Hmm. interesting. you would think someone would have started making some. i guess if it isnt that big of a deal maybe its not that good of an investmen?

 

Exactly.

 

Atkins rotary has kryogenically treated side seals.
I have seen side seals fail, but the problem is usually never the seals themselves.
Side seal failure can be cause by improper clearencing, or rotor bearing failure. These are the most common I see. I have not seen a shattered side seal nor heard of that happening, like the apex seals can.
Also if you are really wanting to upgrade that part of the motor, you may look into some of the experiments that have been done with side seals, such as doubling the springs, or removing some of the land. I think all in all to avoid side seal failure proper clearencing and new or spec bearings is the way to go.
Good luck .

 

Mazda seals (Apex, or side whatever) are all actually pretty good and can out last a lot of "so called" better aftermarket seals.

tuning is the most important thing, it can kill any seals within seconds.

 

I prefer OEM side seals and springs. They have to be clearanced properly though.