Crazy alignment problems

you need four steel square plates of about 15 inch square. pair them up with grease between the plates and carefully move the front wheels onto them. they will then slide and remove any loading from the misalignment. then you can start your measurements.




a simple-ish tracking method is the square around the wheels.

easiest way is to have two bars about 300mm wider than the cars track and cut notches in the ends at exactly the same points on each bar.

put the bars on axle stands, one at the front of the car and one at the rear. set them to the height of the wheel centres.

run fishing line/wire front to rear in the notches, one each side of the car, with weights at one end to keep the wire in tension. this is your square (rectangle but I'll say square as easier).


with a tape measure/ruler measure the distance from the wire to the wheel centres and make sure they are the same each side. Tap the calibrated bars left or right to centre. (front and rear measurements will be different due to track differences. just make sure rear measurements match and front measurements match.)


you now have the square centred to the car. with the tape measure/ruler now measure each wheel at the wire to rim so you end up with eight measurements. (two for each wheel, write on a pad for reference)

lets just concentrate on the front. if the four measurements are the same then the wheels are dead ahead and you have zero tracking.

if for example the measurements you read are 2mm longer at the front part of the rim to the rear part of the rim measured from the wire, then you will have 4mm toe in

if you have one that has a longer measurement at the front of the rim, and the other with a longer measurement at the back of the other side rim then the steering is not centred (although with a bit of mathematics you should still be able to work out the tracking)


the last paragraph is good for centring your steering wheel, with the steering wheel in a dead ahead position the measurements at the front wheels should be even. i.e. both with zero difference or say 1mm longer each side to give 2mm total toe in.


remember the measurements are from the wire so may seem reversed but draw yourself an exaggerated diagram and it should make sense.

Speed academy DIY wheel alignment