Monty,
Carbon is old-speak, most
are going for Tracys' ceramic seals. The take a while to break in,
but seem to last very well. Rotor housing wear hasn't been a problem
for anyone not using a 100,000 mile motor to start with. Ed Anderson ran
into some trouble with ROTOR tip seal slot wear, check yours
carefully. I defer to Tracy, Ed and Lynn as to the corner seals,
nobody I know has really worn out a motor. (including racers in sedan
classes!)
Bill
Jepson
Bill, Tracy's seals are not ceramic. They are made from a super secret
Unobtainium metal:)
Buly
To everybody on fly rotary, MEA CULPA. Incorrect listing for the ceramic
seals!
Tracy's seals are listed as a "Proprietary alloy" that is not a
derivative of gray cast iron as most are. (Mazda's as well) I was thinking of
ceramic seals. Then Tracy's seals and blurted that out.
Lynn, My dad was a ceramic expert. The softest true ceramic is so hard
that it can only be machined using diamond grinding processes, hence the
"stupid" prices. (I agree that the actual ceramic seals are hideously
expensive)
Monty, I do still say that carbon seals are not a good Idea for an
aircraft engine. Go with something more durable like Tracy's or the high
priced ceramic. Fortunately for us Tracy's seals are getting good reports from
the car guys using them at ridiculous RPM and pressure. They should last well
in our engines. Tracy's seals are much cheaper as well so let's get
some!
Buly, I am planning to start an UNOBTAININUM mine real soon, wanna
buy stock?
Bill Jepson
True, the seals are made of unobtainium : ) But it gets
worse. Will soon introduce nitrided unobtainium seals. This is in
response to the drag racing maniacs running 30+ pounds of boost with
occasional detonation. The seals still don’t break but they can be bent
downward in the middle when at high temperature and detonation slams them
down, bottoming them out on the spring seats. The nitrided seals
retain their strength at higher temps.
Tracy