Hunter gets John Andrew Bridgestone into high gear

The first Hunter RX45 scissor lift in Auckland has gone into the boutique Bridgestone Tyre Centre situated in the John Andrew Ford and Mazda dealership complex in Great North Road, Auckland.

Described as possibly the best scissor lift in the world, the RX45 has been matched to a new Hunter wheel alignment system to provide ultra-fast vehicle turnaround, as part of Hunter’s unique Fully Integrated Alignment System (FIA).

Situated next to the vehicle workshops, the Bridgestone Tyre Centre has become an integral part of the John Andrew operation.

It may have just two vehicle bays, but the John Andrew Bridgestone Tyre Centre is one of the hardest working tyre stores for its size in the country.

Established primarily to service the Ford and Mazda client base at New Zealand’s largest vehicle dealership, which includes large rental and business fleets, the tyre store also caters for customers off the street.

“It can get pretty busy in here at times,” says Blake McLaren, Bridgestone’s tyre shop manager.

I can get half a dozen vehicles suddenly turn up after 4pm wanting wheel alignments done before 5pm. With the old equipment it was a struggle to do that, but now I can accommodate them, no sweat.”

Quality and good service support were also vital, and the back-up from Stocks Equipment, which distributes Hunter in New Zealand, is well recognised.

Blake also explains that the hoist needed to be compact to fit into the workshop space available, yet still be able to take a wide variety of vehicles, from long wheelbase utes and vans, to lowered sports cars.

The space-saving, low-profile design brings it down to just 222mm off the floor (best in class) and Blake says he has yet to find a vehicle that cannot drive onto it.

The John Andrew RX45 has been specified with a pair of swing air jacks that are very useful for removing wheels or just lifting them to allow camber to be adjusted while the vehicle is still on the lift.

The Hunter RX45 – its name is derived from the 4.5-tonnes lift capacity – is designed for fast turn-around wheel alignments. The runways are extra wide, measuring 612mm, to cater for a variety of different vehicles.

Among its great features are Hunter’s patented FIA system, which delivers better operating flexibility and saves the technician time when undertaking alignments.

A key FIA component is PowerSlide, which provides automatic locking/unlocking of front turn-plates and rear slip-plates. This automatic feature occurs prior to the caster swing, (no pins to remove), at specified stages of the alignment measurement programme, thus saving the technician multiple trips around the vehicle/lift.

Another handy feature is the Inflation Station, which enables all four tyre pressures to be measured and set to the correct pressure simultaneously and automatically from either the aligner or the lift console.

There are also integrated air lines front and rear for use with power tools. The lift also automatically turns on and off built-in LED lights that light up the front and rear suspension areas.

The FIA system communicates with Hunter’s Win Align computer software to automate the PowerSlide and Inflation Station functions, and it also provides print-outs of tyre inflation corrections.