They say that to be successful you must identify a need and satisfy it. Back in 1968 racing enthusiast Gary Holzapfel saw that many of his friends’ broken engines were caused by fastener failure. At the time, there were no commercially available studs and bolts up to the challenge. So Holzapfel called upon his many years of fastener making experience for a leading aerospace subcontractor and founded ARP® (Automotive Racing Products).
In the ensuing years, the firm has grown from what was literally a backyard garage workshop into a highly diversified manufacturer with four operational entities in Southern California with a combined area in excess of 115,000 square feet. These include forging, machining, finishing and packaging/warehousing facilities in Santa Paula and Ventura, California. There is even a unique racing-themed restaurant at the main Santa Paula facility (called “Hozy’s Grill” - which is open to the public).
Today, ARP’s product line contains of thousands of part numbers, and has expanded to include virtually every fastener found in an engine and driveline. These range from quality high performance OEM replacement parts to exotic specialty hardware for Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and NHRA drag racing and marine applications.
As a matter of fact, ARP’s customer list reads like a “who’s who” of motorsports around the world. In the past several years, virtually every major championship on the planet has been won with engines prepared by ARP customers.
These include:
And so it goes. ARP works closely with many, many teams as a supplier of engine and driveline fasteners, and has clearly become recognized as “the” preeminent source for serious racers.
In order to ensure optimum quality control, ARP has grown to be exceptionally self-reliant and now controls all aspects of the manufacturing process. All operations are performed in-house and closely monitored. This is how ARP has been able to establish a reputation for “zero defects” quality throughout the industry.
The process begins right at the mill, where ARP orders only premium grade materials including several proprietary alloys. The ever-popular 8740 chrome moly steel, for example, comes from the mill in four distinct grades. The lowest is “commercial,” which is followed by “aircraft quality.” ARP uses only the top two grades (SDF and CHQ), which cost twice as much, but provide the foundation for defect-free fasteners. These materials come in bar stock (for studs) and huge coils (for bolts).
Transforming raw material into a fastener begins with “hot” and “cold” heading processes. Material is fed into powerful devices and cold forged, or induction-heated and formed under tons of pressure.
Following the basic shaping, material is heat-treated to desired levels. This crucial process is done entirely in-house to assure total quality control. ARP uses special vertical racks to hold each piece individually and assure complete 360° penetration. This is far superior to commonly-used methods of dumping items into a large bin and batch-treating.
Fasteners are shot-peened after heat-treatment to remove any surface irregularities and improve overall external integrity.
The Grinding Department is where all studs are centerless ground to ensure that they are perfectly concentric. As many as ten machining steps are required to achieve this level of accuracy.
The thread rolling operation (to MIL-S-8879A specs) is done after heat-treat, which accounts for a fatigue strength up to ten times higher than fasteners which are threaded prior to heat-treat.
ARP manufactures nuts in a multi-step process that begins with raw material being fed into a giant forming device that “blanks” the hex and 12-point nuts and continues with highly sophisticated automated threading equipment tapping each nut with an accuracy of .001? (which is five times higher than the aerospace standard). This ensures an exceptionally close-tolerance fit between the bolt/stud and nut.
A series of CNC-threading machines are employed by ARP to accurately tap the threads in nuts. Tolerances held are 5 times better than aerospace standards.
Metal finishing is also performed in-house at ARP. Operations include black oxide coating of chrome moly or polishing stainless steel to a brilliant luster.
A series of special checking devices are employed to monitor the quality of threads. For every thread size, there is a checking device.
Components for each kit are placed on the appropriate display cards, sealed and labeled. Boxed kits are weighed on a special scale ensure that each kit contains exactly the right pieces.
There are a number of important elements in the production of specialty fasteners, not the least of which are materials, design and manufacturing. As you read further into this -catalog, you will get a better idea of the extraordinary steps taken by ARP to produce the very finest products of their kind on the market today. The key to success in all areas is personnel. And here’s where ARP’s cadre of highly qualified and dedicated specialists shines brightly.
The reasoning behind this is best summed up in a quote from Gary Holzapfel, the founder of ARP:
Over the years, ARP have found, through experience, that the only way to maintain the quality ARP require is to keep everything in-house. From heading through machining, grinding, heat-treat, thread rolling, and shot-peening to black oxide treatment ARP perform every operation in house on their own equipment with our own employees.
Some of the fasteners that ARP manufacture at ARP will mean the difference between winning and losing. The dilemma is that no one ever knows which fasteners will be put in that position.
Therefore, the only way to ensure that every fastener ARP make meets quality standards is to perform every operation in-house.
There are many steps in the manufacturing process and every step is critical. A misstep can lead to bolt failure. That's why ARP continually invests in best equipment, technology and personnel.
The steps listed below are some of the steps that a given bolt goes through before "ARP" is stamped on the head – your assurance that it has met ARPs rigorous quality standards. Every bolt has a different manufacturing specification, so not every bolt goes through each of these steps.
But you can be guaranteed every step happens under ARP's roof in the hands of an ARP employee!
There are many steps in the manufacturing process and every step is critical. A misstep can lead to stud failure. That's why ARP continually invests in best equipment, technology and personnel.
The steps listed below are some of the steps that a given stud goes through before "ARP" is stamped on the end – your assurance that it has met ARPs rigorous quality standards. Every stud has a different manufacturing specification, so not every stud goes through each of these steps.
But you can be guaranteed every step happens under ARP's roof in the hands of an ARP employee!
While there are not as many steps in the manufacture of a nut, each step is just as critical. If the nut fails, then having a perfectly manufactured bolt doesn't matter.
The steps listed below are some of the steps that a given nut goes through prior to being stamped with "ARP".
But you can be guaranteed every step happens under ARP's roof in the hands of an ARP employee!
Automotive Racing Products, Inc. is proud to announce that it has achieved registration for both the ISO9001 and the AS9100 quality standards. These registrations represent ARP's unwavering dedication to producing quality fasteners, continually improving our quality management system and delivering total customer satisfaction.
These registrations include all of our facilities in Santa Paula, Calif., where all of our products are manufactured, as well as our sales and packaging facility in Ventura, Calif.
Both of our registrations have been certified by National Quality Assurance, USA. of Acton, Mass., which is accredited by ANAB.
Mike Holzapfel, president of ARP, stated, "The way our fasteners are used in racing has mandated that our company be focused on quality. In fact, when my father started the company, it was in response to the low quality fasteners that were available to racers in the early 70's. The ISO 9001 and AS9100 registrations show our commitment to quality has been fully documented and institutionalized. We are committed to living up to these standards in every product we make."