Kas and all,
Actually, hardness and strength are different ways to measure the same thing.
You can actually convert a hardness value to a strength value. Hardness
testing was developed to provide a "nondestructive" method for testing strength.
What you are really after is a bolt that exhibits high hardness/strength with
good ductility. Ductility is essentially lack of brittleness. Inpact strength
may also be important.
What ARP really does that is so special is that they use high quality steels to
make their fasteners. They also make sure that dimensions are good and use
some special shapes they have developed over the years to help distribute load
better. They also use the best heat treater in the world for their fasteners
(OK, a shameless plug for the company I work for, Bodycote Thermal Processing).
Hope this info helped this thread.
Chuck Gee
Spitfire Racer
Metallurgical Engineer and heat treater
Blacksmith Racing
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