2014 ARP Catalog

JOHN CARROLL SMITH: A TRIBUTE

THE “AEROSPACE QUALITY” MYTH In areas from hose ends to engine fasteners the terms “Aerospace material and Aerospace Quality” have become buzz words implying the very best in design, materials and quality control. “It isn’t necessarily so”, says Gary Holzapfel, founder and CEO of Santa Paula, California based ARP, Inc. ARP (Automotive Racing Products) supplies extremely high strength and fatigue resistant threaded engine fasteners to NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, ALMS and Formula -1 engine builders and manufactur- ers. Holzapfel explained his reasons in an interview with Carroll Smith. Carroll Smith was a race engineer and special motorsports consultant with Automotive Racing Products for more than decade. The pages of our catalog alone bear the mark of his enormous contributions to our efforts. Here at ARP, as elsewhere, Carroll Smith’s mission was Smith: “Gary, do you believe that the term “aerospace qual- ity” is over rated in the specialty fastener industry?” “Yes I do. First of all, the term is meaningless. Any AMS (Aerospace Material Specification) material must be matched to the specific application. As an example, some airframe bolts (AN3-20) are legitimate “aerospace parts” and are very well suited for the low stress applications for which they were designed. But with a minimum ultimate tensile strength of 125,000 psi, and a relatively low temperature limit, they would be completely unsuitable for use in a racing engine. We started out in the aerospace fastener business and we understand it. That’s why we’re not in it any longer. What is not generally understood about aerospace fasteners is that the fastener manufacturers do not design the product. The nuts, bolts and studs are spec’d by the airframe or engine designers and put out for bid. As long as the supplier certifies that the product meets the minimum requirement of the specification and it passes the customer’s inspection procedures, low bid wins.” There are many of us who can say we knew John Carroll Smith in life. Carroll Smith was known around the engineering shops as a design and development engineer. He was known on race circuits as a team manager, driver coach and racing guru. And before that, he was known for his 30+ years of racing experience, driving in SCCA events, as well as on cir- cuits in Europe including the Targa Florio and Le Mans. Even more of us know Carroll Smith through his books. His “To Win” series of books brought technical acclaim as they became staples for amateur and professional rac- ers, while his “Engineer in Your Pocket” are today highly regarded as engineering handbooks. We’re never surprised to find his name on or featured in – books on race car design, preparation, engineering and tuning. Among his peers at the Society of Automotive Engineers, he served as a judge for the Formula SAE competition. One of his proudest honors was the Society’s Excellence in Engineering Education award.

Smith: “Are you implying that the aerospace fastener man- ufacturers cut corners in order to win contracts?” “No, it’s a matter of manufacturing goals and simple econom- ics. The aerospace market is price dominated. In order to get the contract, the fastener manufacturer’s goal is to meet the specifica- tion at the least cost, not to produce the best possible part. This means that they are going to use the least expensive steel and manufacturing processes that will meet the specification. There is nothing wrong with this approach. It certainly does not mean that certified aerospace fasteners are unsafe in any aspect. They will do the job for which they were designed. There is another factor. Airframe Ford has recently announced it is bringing back the GT40, its signature race car and a vehicle which, even forty years later, bears Carroll’s fingerprints. To those of us who knew him in person and through his work, the return of the GT40 is just another indicator of the enormous contribu- tion to race engineering that John Carroll Smith continues to make, even after his passing. Carroll Smith passed away at his California home on May 16, 2003, from pancreatic cancer. simple. He was determined to impart the encyclopedic knowledge of racing and the machinery of racing that he learned during those decades on the world’s racetracks, around those shops and among his engineering peers. He left us at ARP with a significant engineering inheri- tance. Much of what we now know from Carroll will ensure we remain the world leader in the field of racing fasteners. It is our way of reciprocating for what he gave us that we impart his expertise and experience in the form we know best, superior engineered products. As an engineer, Carroll Smith had successes in Formula 5000, numerous GT and sports car races, and with the Ferrari Formula 1 team. He is best known, however, for his work with Carroll Shelby and the Ford GT40 program which he helped develop into a winner at Le Mans.

FASTENER TECH

This spring was wound from un-shaved material. It failed on the seam line.

and aircraft engine manufactur- ers design their components to a very high margin of safety. Further, aerospace structures are designed to be “fail safe.” There is a back up or second line of defense for virtually every structural component so that an isolated failure will not lead to disaster. They are also subjected to frequent and rigorous inspections.” Smith: “What’s different about motor racing?” “Quite a lot, really. While the demands for strength, fatigue resistance and quality control can be similar, and the assembly and inspection procedures in racing can

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