3mm Apex Seals
 

I searched the forums and the FAQ section, and didn't see anything on 3mm Apex Seals. These might be some stupid questions, but heres a shot. Are the 3mm Seals better than 2mm, like stronger and more reliable than 2mm's? Do you have to do anything extra to fit these in? Do you notice a difference in ANY way with them? Sorry if these are some dumb questions, but I'm curious to know in case I decided to get them.

I may have posted this in the wrong section, sorry if I did. If I did can mod move please.

Depends who you ask. In theory the 3mm seals should be stronger.


Yes, you have to machine the rotors

No. I haven't driven an FD with 3mm seals, but I don't see why they would affect anything.

Can of worms, everyone will have a opinion.

Mine is Mazda tried them and left them for a reason (or lack of reason to keep them) and many on this board have made good power on stock 2mm. Treating the seals seems to give the best benefit. The benefir being more knock protection and maybe better sealing. Rotary experts (Im not one) will chime in Im sure.

Yes I do have 3mm seals in my engine lol. The reason is the deal on the engine I couldn't refuse. I wouldn't go out of my way to get 3mm.

I got 3mm apex seals when I had my engine rebuilt & ported. There are a couple of benefits: They are stronger and do stand-up to back fires and so on & they don't wear the housings as much as the 2mm do.

I did a LOT of searching on here about 3mm seals when I was considering my engine build. You'll get nothing but varying opinions. I'll try to remember the finer points. The main problem with 3mm seals is if the slots are machined incorrectly, which is easy to do, they might stick on you. I talked to the guys at Mazdatrix and they gave me that reason as why they no longer suggest, or work with, machined rotors. Also, I think Mazda heat treats the apex seal slots and machining them will prolly destroy that. Most will tell you they are unnecessary and that tuning matters more than an extra millimeter of seal thickness. Then you'll get hammered by "I swear by (insert manufacturer)." Talk to Adam at RX7Specialties.com, 403-246-6980. He is EXTREMELY knowledgable and will take the time to run you through the pros and cons of going with 3mm seals. I forget exactly how much he charges to machine rotors, but it was really reasonable. I went with 3mm dual spring one piece ceramic seals btw. The cost was high but I'm paranoid.

I have 3mm seals in mine. i've read numerous times that those allow for higher revs and higher boosting. like the rest of these guys said, its probably all a matter of opinion and tuning and other factors involved. i like the concept of bigger seals though, it makes me feel better:D

Thanks man.