Dude.
Maybe you should go back & read my original post again.
I have done a back to back test with these apex seals compared to stock Mazda ones in the exact same engine in the exact same car & proven that the stock Mazda apex seal will withstand a hell of a lot more "abuse" than the RA ones.
I am abusing the engine now with the stock seals & it has given no complaints whatsoever.I couldn't get an engine to last more than 6 or 7 pulls on a dyno with not too much more stress on it than a stock engine with the RA seals.
I have pushed these apex seals beyond their limit TWICE now & I think your"daily driving & a hard run once in a while" might come close to doing the same as I did!

 

Great...I was getting ready to try a set (RA) but I think I'll pass now.

 

In all fairness, the 2 experiences here (and i believe scaliwags PP motor warping falier) all occurred during a time in which the manufacteror admits it had product defects. Most companys wouldnt own up to this in fear of scaring off customers (they usually blame it on the consumer while secretly taking measures to fix the problem), but RA does. This is a new product, and just like a first year car, some mistakes and refinements can be expected. I dont think we have had any reports of faliuer since the RA admited bad runs of seals, granted this is a very short time. I dont think you can judge the product upon experiences had while they were having manufactuing difficulties.

 

Very well said!

 

well said, but now this thread is inconclusive. ;P

 

grand, I can hardly wait for mine to go bad... Wish this would have come about a few months ago. Oh well, guess I'll enjoy the RA's while their in there.

 

I'm still going to try a set of the 3mm in the motor I am building now.

 

Same here.

B

 

ignore

 

I've been following this thread from the beginning and the more I read the harder it is for me to make up my mind on what to use in the motor I am currently building. I have a set of stock 3 piece 2mm and I have a set of RA seals that I had ordered around the time this thread started. I was all set to use the RA seals until I read rxeng's post. I'm confident that RA has the manufacturing problem under control, but I really haven't seen anyone on this forum running a significant amount of boost (>15 psi) on on these seals for any length of time. I know RA has claimed that there are people running high boost on these seals but I was hoping for some first hand info from some of these people. I'll be putting this motor together this week so I will have to make up my mind soon.

 

well, i heard the jspecracer i think his name was but he lives in japan.... he is boosting 19 lbs on a single daily driven and so far and i didnt see him post here so......

also, i am running these seals at 10lbs with twins but soon to go single....

one question, on hot starts sometimes, the car will idle lumpy until a small tap on the gas. it has alway's been like this but now i notice it more... my engine builder said its normal because the pipes get heat soaked and hot air goes inside the engine. i guess he's right because a light tap on the throttle fixes it....

what do you guy's think?

i have 4k miles on them.. started boosting at 1.5k 10lbs

 

I say you should install the RA seals especially if you have a good set. You already have a general idea of how well the stock Mazda seals will perform. Remember if these seals fail they warp and "prevent" damage to the housings, turbos, ect. This has been proven on the engines that have failed. Rxeng had 2 faulty sets in that engine and they caused no damage at all. Your not going to get that benefit with the Mazda 3 piece seals when they blow. If your building the engine yourself, you could easily experiment and see how well they hold up at 15psi. If they fail then just by a seal kit and install the Mazda 3 piece. Does that make since?

 

If they warp right away then I don't see a problem with trying them out. What I am more worried about is if they warp slowly over time like in Max's case. His housings may have been reusable but his rotors were trash. I just don't want a costly rebuild because of these seals. Is everyone on this forum buying the fact that the warping was caused solely from the dry grinding process and not the material of the seals, or a combination of both?

I will most likely use the RA seals but they will be in the back of my mind as I'm starting the car for the first 5K miles.

 

so for the first 5 or 10k miles go good, there wont be any problems?

 

godspeed silver7

 

Why worry about it? You already have a stock set so use it! As of now, there is no proven advantage of the RA seals over stock. Until better data or info becomes available, why take a chance with another rebuild? You got money to burn or what?

 

I don't have money to burn and that's the issue. I have stock 3 piece but I prefer to use 2 piece seals. If I don't used these RA seals then what the hell am I supposed to do with them. I guess I could sell them...

 

Bump Any more Info??

 

i used RA seals in my jspec TII s5 motor, old housing and all. its been 10k miles now and no problems at all starting.around 4k i had problems starting hot, but that was caused by a bad TPS sensor. my car still pulls hard. i run 10 psi all day.

just my .02 but i like the seals so far. specially for the price.

 

i have a question...... my hot start is good (2nd crank of motor car will start) but it idle's lumpy when its hot. one tap on the gas and its fixed..... is it from the seals?
my mechanic said that its all the hot air in the pipes and that will clear when you press the gas.

i have 4k miles on the with 10lbs on stock twins daily.. any other cars running these wil updates?

 

any updates???

 

Check your FPR, it may have a crack in the line. When mine was disconnected, I couldnt even get the car to start while hot it would just flood it completely, and it wouldnt idle.

 

its brand new... he replaced it with the rebuild!

im hopeing its not the seals!

 

Stock FPR? Or aftermarket? If its stock then just check the connection, if aftermarket adjust it i guess if you can.

 

This thread is kind of a pita to follow with all the non related talk -


anyway, terry or somone with factual knoledge:

Please define the batches, As I read this it looks like there are ink matched sets at the beginning, followed by engraved and finally dot marked. What are the exact dates and which batch should we be concerned over?