"Quirk, Kevin KA" wrote:

Are the ceramic seals suitable for turbocharged engines?
Also, does the oscillatory motion occur at the housing's 'waist' sections (between spark plugs and between inlet and exhaust ports)?
I have heard of some top drag racers using 2mm apex seals on their motors instead of the stronger 3mm seals.  Maybe they trade off some strength (and resistance to detonation) for additional RPM.

KQ

Yes the ceramics are stronger but a bit more brittle. A little slop in the rotor
bearings and/or the phasing gears can cause the seals to "jump-off-the-hump" at high
RPM and lose some pressure. It only takes a couple of thousands. What is probably
happening
is the oil film in the rotor bearings is getting thinner because of the centrifugal
loads are getting very high.

Paul Lamar
 
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