Hunter Highlights Vol. 135

MOTOR Magazine “Covers” Hunter

MOTOR Magazine showcased Hunter technology in its June issue cover story titled “Total 4-Wheel Alignment”. The article, by MOTOR senior writer Mike Mavrigian explores four-wheel alignment fundamentals in a contemporary context, reviewing many concepts pioneered by Hunter Engineering Company from the 1940’s to the present. MOTOR, founded in 1903 to record the “ascendancy of the automobile” in the U.S., is a publication of Hearst Business Publishing.

Hunter History — 1982
111 Series Wheel Aligner Introduces Microcomputing Technology

Hunter introduced the Series 111 wheel alignment system, one of the company’s most successful product lines, in the spring of 1982. The A111 offered a lineup of industry firsts. Complete four-wheel alignment capability displayed all front and rear alignment readings simultaneously on a CRT. Electronic sensors delivered automatic wheel runout compensation on all four wheels. Real-time specification vs. actual alignment readings and a bar-graph graphic display guided the technician during adjustment. Concerned that technicians might reject the CRT interface, company engineers also prepared a 111 model that used analog readouts. Not a single analog unit was ever sold.

Within two years of its introduction more powerful generations of the Series 111 eliminated more manual steps to make wheel alignment even faster. The C111, for example, stored specifications for 90% of U.S. cars and light trucks sold during the previous 10 years. By the end of the decade the Series 111 offered color, high-definition illustrations to train and guide the technician; printable inspection and alignment data; and infrared optical wheel sensors that eliminated the mechanical toe line. Hunter engineers would later incorporate these innovations into more powerful PC-based alignment systems and lead the industry into the 21st century.

Above: This Hunter A111-D4M model aligner featured a mobile cabinet with self-illuminated signage. Four-wheel electronic sensors were hard-wired to the cabinet.