I use Atkins Rotary solid corner seals on all the race engines. Especially on nitrous engines.



I have found that, they work AWESOME, they could take some serious nitrous abuse and could tolerate detonation bettter then stock mazda oem corner seals. BUT the engine builder needs to pay attetion to APEX SEAL to CORNER SEAL gap. Sometimes when the corner seal is installed, you will find that the apex seal gets jammed a little at the corner seal slot. 90% of the time I have fixed the problem, by just pulling the corner seal out, and flipping the corner seal over and back on the rotor. Seems like the corner seal fits better oneway.. If flipping the corner seal over does not fix the jamming of the apex seal slot. Your going to have to file down the corner seal slot and check for your .002 of an inch clearance. It has come to my attention about this problem from other engine builders. Not really a problem if the proper steps are taking to insure proper corner seal to apex seal slot clearance.. the solid Atkins corner seals are worth the little extra attention when your building the engine.



I have broken stock mazda corner seals in the past with little detonation. I have yet to brake a solid 2mm corner seal from atkins.. hope this helps a little..

Another tip. After the rotor is assembled with all the seals. Go to every apex seal slot and place the apex seal in and out the corner seal slot. This way you could tell if the apex seal is jamming..

Awesome info Ito !!

thanks for the info it came at a very good time https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

I "inherited" a special 2mm file for just such occasions

Ito,

Thanks this is some great info.

don't want this thread to disappear.. very important info.

Yep, I do the same thing prior to assembly -- I always check for fitment via apex/corner seal and spring mock-up. I've noticed the same issue w/ the Atkins solids as well, Ito. They do require a bit more attention, but I believe they're worth every cent. I use them in the higher-powered setups I build, too.



B

each side has a difference finish..

always thought the rule of thumb was shiny side up.. less wear and tear for the irons..

OK,

Quick Question....

I have the 2mm solid corner seals from Atkins and they look to be machined on one side and ground to a shiny smooth surface on the other side.



According to Atkins, Mazda, and many other builders I have spoken with, corner seals are recommended to ONLY be used in ONE DIRECTION...that being the smoother, or ground/polished side toward the plate, and the rough or machined side toward the corner seal spring.



So....do you believe that these can be used on either side, or should they only be filed and used in the intended orientation? The attached picture shows the machined one on the left, and the smooth ground side on the right.....



I hope that made sense... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.gif





O..and one other question......



What is your opinion on the use of Vaseline for engine assembly? When the Rotors are built first, they are bagged up and used later (Like a week or so). Can Vaseline be left on Atkins Viton, OR the OEM Mazda oil seals for that long, or is this a problem?



From my understanding and experience, I have not seen an issue with this, but I thought I would ask your opinion and experience. I use Hylomar for the coolant and gas seals, and the o-rings on the rotor housings, but Vaseline on ALL the rotor parts to keep them from falling apart. I also install the Apex seals and springs in the rotor when it is placed in the rotor housing when assembling on an engine stand and I do not use glue anywhere....



OK..I think that is enough for now...

Thanks for all the good info though Ito! https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif

Well....I just noticed that I resurrected an old thread...hmmmm.... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...>/rolleyes.gif



whoops.....

Atkins has a new design on the solid 2mm corner seals. no more flip over deal. at this point u need to check for proper clearance.

Hey Judge...



Those Corners in the pic ARE the new 2mm from Atkins. They are different on each side...one is machined and one is ground...that is why I was wondering about the flip over....maybe I got some of the last of the old type?



Also, I am getting WAY too much clearance on the side seals and I think I am going to go ahead and get a new set and clearence them out instead of trying to fit used garbage.

Also, after closer inspection...these Atkins corner seals are ground completely flat on the side that contacts the plate surface, and the spring contact side has the sharp edge taken off (bevelled).



Shiney smooth side has a sharp edge, and the slightly rougher machined side has a rounded edge.

I have a question about sanding down the apex seal to rotor groove clearance. Do you sand down the apex seal and the groove? Also what do you use to sand them down? My 3mm atins apex are a little tight.. Need the .002 clearance..

ITO, what do you think of the solid CRYO corner seals? Are they worth the extra money? Being harder, do you think they'll wear the irons faster than their standard solid corner seal?

what is this build for? daily driven or track car?

you file the rotor groove. takes very little material off the rotor groove

when clearancing apex seals, why wouldn't you change the seal to fit the rotor groove instead of filing the rotor to fit the seal?