What's everyone's personal opinion on apex seals what brands have you used and what do you trust?
Mazda OEM,power seals etc???

 

i used OEM seals in mine way back in 98. still going strong with nearly 200k.

 

I think your answers and recommendations will vary based first on whether you're running NA vs Turbocharged, then based on how hard/safe it's tuned.

Different seals have different pros and cons. Ceramics are kindest to housings, but if they get detonation and break then they destroy everything. "Unbreakable" seals resist detonation, but they're harsher on housings and require more lube (premix) to reduce scouring. Stock seals are good for wear, but don't tolerate pre-detonation very well either..

Imo, there is not a single "ideal" apex seal, each application will have different requirements and different preferred seals.

 

I concur with what the others are saying, I did oem for all seals. But I’m also planning to keep things relatively stock.

A trick I use to dig / pull these questions and answers from the forum more easily. Google RX7Club + whatever question or item, since the forums search isn’t the greatest. Doing the google sitename + words, you’ll find many threads, some are huge discussing seals, pros cons etc. Granted some might be a bit dated but most are still relevant.
I also reached out to some builders and gathered their feedback and then I made my choice. Hope that helps.

 

yes... it cant be stressed enough that there is no "best" apex seal, its just whats best for the application...... FOR. THE. APPLICATION.

based on the requirements for what youre building for, you will find which apex seal characteristics best suit your needs.

 

I'll start by echoing what the others have said, and reiterate there is no "One Seal to Rule Them All." But, to go a bit deeper, your question is a bit flawed from the start: You are asking for peoples personal opinations, when what you really want is factual information. Asking people's personal opinion on a seal is just going to cause people to shout brand names at each other, with no real data to back themselves up. What's worse is, when this conversation inevitably devolves, people completely disregard the OP's needs for their build, and just say "well this worked for me, so its the right answer."

Heck, even after you've decided on the goal of your build and eliminated some of the seal options, you'll still be left with some choices to sift through. And these will have benefits and drawbacks to each of them. Once you know all that, THEN you can decide which is best for you.

So, the better question would be:
I'm looking to build an engine for [this]. What are some good seal options for me? And what are some advantages/disadvantages of each?