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which seal 3mm or 2mm

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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 09:39 PM
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Talking which seal 3mm or 2mm

i building a street racing rx-7 i wanna put a big single turbo on it i also want to make aroun 400 to 500hp. wich seal is the best for this. i heard that on the 3mm seals u need it to be milled perfect so it does not mess up. but are 2mm performance seals better if soo wich one is the best
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 09:47 PM
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welcome to the forum. I would do a search on this. there was a thread with a big debate on which is better. Yes, to use 3mm seals you need to open up your rotors and does require more work then putting 2mm back on.
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 09:51 PM
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First off all do you know what a 500 hp fd feels like. How long have you been driving you car for, gert used to it and then upgrade, or youll end up wraping it around a tree. And i say 2mm seal better than 3mm.
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 10:22 PM
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It's a trade off. 3mm give u extra insurance when tuning and doing expirimental stuff. 2mm seal better and have less friction (more power).
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 11:26 PM
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now i have another question do 2mm last just as long and wich company makes the best
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 11:31 PM
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Originally posted by brandon's rx-7
now i have another question do 2mm last just as long and wich company makes the best
There are quite a few people making some big power on the stock seals (using Single turbos). Hurley seals seem to also be a favorite.

Originally posted by ErnieT
All of the fastest racers use stock 3piece seals. Ray Wilson pushes 650rwhp on stockers. Demetrios K pushes the same power on stockers. Last week I ran 27lbs of boost on "stock" apex seals. They seal the best and make the best power, hands down. Don't waste your money on anything else.
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 11:39 PM
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i understand that they make big power with 2mm seals but are they just as reliable. i want it to last. if it has all the power in the world but keeps blowing the seals it does no good.
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Old Oct 19, 2002 | 11:41 PM
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Originally posted by brandon's rx-7
i understand that they make big power with 2mm seals but are they just as reliable. i want it to last. if it has all the power in the world but keeps blowing the seals it does no good.
The seals don't just go for no reason. If you run too lean, no seal will really help with detonation.
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Old Oct 20, 2002 | 12:40 AM
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also if this is not going to be a street car you can use 2mm seals out of a harder compound.

BUT Mahjik is right...typically it is bad tuning that causes your motor to blow not the seals. I daily drove a 400 rwhp single T04S and had no problems...but I had the car tuned right.

Chris
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Old Oct 20, 2002 | 01:43 AM
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where can you get the scoot 2mm apex seals?
how good are they? (i hope that's not a dumb question)
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Old Oct 20, 2002 | 03:04 AM
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was browsing pineapple's site

Apex Seals -- 2mm vs. 3mm

First of all, 2mm seals are perfectly fine for extremely high boost levels. Many people sucessfully run 20+ psi on stock 2mm seals with no reported problems. However, 3mm seals are much more durable and not all of us have (1) great tuning skills and (2) the financial resources to shrug off a small tuning mistake that requires a full rebuild. One hard ping and a 2mm seal will likely break. 3mm seals generally take much more tuning abuse (multiple, hard pings), which is often enough margin to back off and save the motor. Also, we use a special 2-piece 3mm seal that, when it does fail, tends not to cause subsequent damage to rotors and housings. While getting the rotors machined out for 3mm seals and purchasing the seals themselves costs a bit more, it does not begin to compare to that of a second rebuild. For this reason, we recommend 3mm seals to customers who plan to exceed stock power levels and/or go with aftermarket fuel injection systems. Again, it's not mandatory if you have advanced tuning skills or are willing to risk a second rebuild, but 3mm seals are relatively cheap insurance.
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