HAWKEYE ELITE ®
Performance Wheel Alignment at Litchfield
Your wheel alignment is one of the most important but often overlooked aspects of how a performance car drives. Correct geometry affects steering feel, stability, grip, fuel economy, tyre wear and driver confidence. Even small inaccuracies can have a noticeable impact, especially on modern high performance cars with stiff suspension, wide tyres and complex chassis systems. Manufacturer tolerances are wide to aid fast turn around and are often unnecessarily conservative.
At Litchfield, wheel alignment is treated as a precision engineering process, not a basic adjustment. That is why we invested in 2x Hunter HawkEye Elite alignment systems, Hunter’s top of the range alignment platform.
Why We Use the Hunter Elite
Hunter produce a wide range of alignment machines. The Elite system sits at the very top of that range and was chosen because it offers levels of accuracy, consistency and capability that the lower models simply cannot match. The HawkEye Elite uses a multi camera optical measurement system that continuously tracks the exact position of each wheel in real time. This allows camber, caster, toe and thrust angles to be measured with extremely high accuracy and, more importantly, monitored live as adjustments are made. The system is paired with Hunter’s most advanced WinAlign software, giving access to full manufacturer specifications alongside the ability to work to own own bespoke targets where appropriate. This allows us to build alignment settings around how the car is actually used, rather than being restricted to generic factory values.
We also use Hunter’s tyre mounted adaptors, which attach to the tyre rather than the wheel itself. This avoids contact with the wheel rim and removes a common source of error found in older clamp based systems, while also protecting expensive wheels.
Accuracy, Repeatability and Consistency
One of the key reasons for choosing the Elite system is repeatability and consistency that is critical when developing chassis setups and when fine tuning a car over time. Owning 2 identical Hunter Elite systems also allows us to maintain availability while ensuring every alignment is carried out using the same process, equipment and standards.
Alignment Informed by Real Experience
Equipment alone does not deliver great results. What matters is how it is used. We own and run a number of the key performance models that we enjoy every day. This has allowed us to test and refine alignment settings through real world road use and track driving, rather than relying purely on theory. Those lessons are applied directly to our customer cars.
Whether a customer wants improved road manners, sharper steering response or a setup tailored to occasional track use, we understand how alignment changes influence behaviour and how to balance performance with tyre life and stability.
A Proper Engineering Approach
Our alignment ramps are designed to accommodate low and wide performance cars correctly and where required we integrate alignment work with additional suspension setup, corner weighting and ADAS correction *.
The Hunter HawkEye Elite system gives us the accuracy and control needed to do this properly. That is why we chose the top of the range model and why we continue to invest in it. Hunter regularly test, service and update our systems to insure they continue to have the latest vehicle data and remain accurate.
If you would like to learn more about alignment for a specific model, please contact our team.
* Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) provide drivers with active safety support features. Since 31st March 2021 Insurance companies should require confirmation that ADAS, where specified on a vehicle, is inspected, realigned and calibrated after the completion of work that can affect the positioning of sensors, there operation or the change in vehicle geometry. For more information on the insurance implications, please visit the Thatcham website here https://www.thatcham.org/insurance-industry-requirements/the-requirements
Litchfield Wheel Alignment Pricing
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