We Just Installed the Hunter Hawkeye Elite — The Most Accurate Alignment System on the Market

We Just Installed the Hunter Hawkeye Elite — The Most Accurate Alignment System on the Market

Big news from the MST Motorsports shop: we've added the Hunter Hawkeye Elite alignment system to our St. George service bay. If you drive a lifted truck, a Jeep, a Bronco, an off-road SUV, or a daily commuter that's spent any time on Southern Utah's washboard backroads, this is the alignment rack you want your vehicle on.

Here's what the Hawkeye Elite changes for our customers — and why a regular alignment check is one of the cheapest insurance policies you can buy for your tires, suspension, and steering.

What the Hunter Hawkeye Elite Actually Does

Most shops still run alignment systems that rely on heavy clamps bolted to the wheel and slow, manual targeting. The Hawkeye Elite uses four high-resolution cameras and patented QuickGrip™ adaptors that touch the tire — not the wheel — to read camber, caster, toe, thrust angle, and ride height in seconds.

What that means in practice:

• No risk of marring custom wheels. Bead-lock UTV wheels, polished aluminum, powder-coated beadlocks, forged 22s — nothing gets clamped or scratched.
• Sub-arc-minute accuracy. The camera array measures angles tighter than the human eye can perceive on a steering wheel.
• Live readings as we adjust. When we turn a tie rod or shim a control arm, the screen updates in real time — no chasing your tail between the rack and the readout.
• Full diagnostic picture, not just toe. We get caster split, SAI, included angle, setback, and frame angle data that tells us why a vehicle is pulling, not just that it is.

For a lifted truck, a long-travel UTV, or a Jeep on 37s, that level of detail is the difference between an alignment that "passes" and one that actually drives straight, tracks true under braking, and wears tires evenly.

Why You Should Get Your Alignment Checked Regularly

Alignment is not a one-and-done service. It drifts — sometimes slowly, sometimes overnight. Here's what knocks it out around Southern Utah:

1. Our Roads Are Hard on Suspension

Between the expansion joints on I-15, the chip-seal on Bluff Street, the washboard heading into Sand Hollow, and the cattle guards out toward Hurricane, every drive nudges your suspension geometry. Bushings compress, ball joints settle, and tie-rod ends take impacts they were never designed to absorb in a single hit.

2. Heat Cycles Change Tire Behavior

Summer pavement temperatures regularly hit 140°F+ in St. George. Hot tires wear three to four times faster than cool ones, and even a quarter-degree of bad toe will scrub the inside or outside edges off a set of $300+ tires in a single season.

3. Lift Kits, Leveling Kits, and Suspension Mods Always Need Realignment

Any time you change ride height — even a 2" leveling kit — caster and camber move. Drive it unaligned for 500 miles and you've already started cupping the tires.

4. Off-Road Use Loosens Things

UTVs, Broncos, Jeeps, and trucks that see Sand Hollow, Warner Valley, or the trails out by Gooseberry settle their suspension constantly. Rock strikes and hard landings can bend a tie rod or shift a control arm cam bolt without leaving an obvious mark.

5. Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

Bring your vehicle in if you notice any of these:

• Steering wheel off-center when driving straight
• Vehicle pulls left or right on a flat road
• Uneven or feathered tire wear
• Steering feels loose, vague, or wandering
• A new vibration above 50 mph
• Recent curb hit, pothole strike, or off-road landing

How Often Should You Get an Alignment?

Our recommendation for Southern Utah drivers:

• Daily-driver cars and SUVs: Annually, or every 12,000 – 15,000 miles
• Lifted trucks and Jeeps: Every 6 months, or after any off-road trip with hard impacts
• Broncos with aftermarket suspension: Every 6 months, plus after any lift or leveling change
• UTVs running long-travel or aftermarket A-arms: Every 1,000 trail miles, or after any visible front-end contact
• After any suspension work: Always — including new shocks, control arms, ball joints, tie rods, or wheel/tire packages

A quick alignment check costs a fraction of a single tire and takes us about 20 minutes on the Hawkeye Elite.

What an Alignment on the Hawkeye Elite Looks Like at MST

When you bring your vehicle in, here's what happens:

1. Pre-inspection. We check tire pressures, tread wear patterns, ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, and bushings. An alignment on worn parts is wasted money — we'll tell you up front if anything needs to be addressed first.
2. Mount and measure. QuickGrip adaptors go on in seconds. The Hawkeye Elite captures full vehicle geometry before we touch a single bolt.
3. Print the "before" sheet. You see exactly where your truck or UTV sat when it rolled in.
4. Adjust to spec — or to your build. For lifted trucks and off-road builds, factory specs aren't always ideal. We dial in caster for highway tracking, set toe for tire life, and balance camber for your wheel-and-tire setup.
5. Print the "after" sheet. You leave with a printed report showing every angle, before and after.

Get Your Alignment Checked

Whether you're running a stock 4Runner, a 6" lifted Ram, a Bronco on 35s, a Jeep JL, or a Can-Am X3 that just kissed a rock at Sand Hollow — the Hunter Hawkeye Elite gives us the data to dial it in right the first time.

Call (435) 256-8899 or book your alignment online. Walk-in checks are welcome whenever the rack is open.

We'll show you the numbers. Then we'll fix them.