So here's the deal. I ordered a new set of Atkin's solid corner seals and they don't appear to be in spec.
Mazda's specs for corner seal height is .276" NEW/.268" Trash.
All 12 of the new corner seals I received measured in at .270"
I bought these to replace my old Atkins solid seals that were at .268" after about 10k miles.
Those seals were 5 years old.

I called yesterday and, after talking to someone for a few minutes was told I'd get a call back. Today rolled around and still hadn't heard back so I called them. I was basically told that I can send them in and they'd check in to it and I could get my money back.

Has anyone else had problems with these. I know theyre extremely popular and I had no problems with my old set, but if these are only .002" fresher, should I just get my money back and use my old set?

 

have you calibrated your calipers lately?

 

Buy new OEM. They're proven in 500+ rwhp engines, why bother with solids?

 

I measured them with my Starett 0-1", my old Lufkin 0-1", and a pair of digital calipers. All read .270".

I bought them because they were cheaper and I wanted to support Atkins since I've had good luck with their products in the past. I'm thinking I'll just return them and reuse my old ones.

 

hmm, my used stock corner seals were all .272"+. and they were used for way more than 30k miles

 

You're doing it wrong. You just posted that your old ones are basically out of spec. How much is it for 12 OEM corner seals? I mean, the cheapest route is to just throw the entire engine in the trash right ?

 

I know, I know. I was basically trying to get anyone's input on whether this is normal or not. FWIW, I'm using FD springs and did with the last motor two. If my last seals only had ~10k miles on them, .002" of wear doesn't sound abnormal. BUT, this would mean that the corner seals I bought over 5 years ago were also much shorter than stock. I've measured corners out of stock motors with over 160k that measured higher, so I'm really confused at this point.

 

I've noticed Atkins corner seals being short on engines I've torn down. But I've never used them in a build, so I can't comment on their size when new. I would suspect, as you do, that they are short from the start.