I know plenty of people adjust their own toe and there are several ways of doing it, but thought it may be useful to write up one way, which is the easiest way I've found to do it.
This sounds like a lot of work, but really isn't and takes me about 10-15 minutes to adjust the toe, start to finish.
1/ REFERENCE MARKS
First thing you will need to do is find a reference mark, or make one, on the tire that is the same all round the tire. Some tires, like my KM2s have a center seam/mold mark which is pretty precise, other tires don't.
If you don't have a center seam mark or tread line that you can use you will have to make one. The easiest way is to raise the wheel off the ground and put a pin/tack/etc on the ground just touching the tread and spin the tire around, you can even do this with a fine tipped pencil. Obviously whatever you use to make the mark cannot move as you spin the tire. Some people spray some white paint around the tire first so that the pin mark will show up easily.
If you are using a mold mark, depending on how the tires are positioned the mold mark may be across a lug where you want to measure. In which case I just pencil a line across the lug based on the seam mark in the voids.
Some people use the sidewalls, but these are often not perfectly level, the sidewalls my KM2s vary by at least 1/8" in various places, and this could put your measurements out by 1/4" or more.
2/ TOE-IN OR TOE-OUT
Toe in will make the vehicle have more directional stability. Toe out will cause slight disturbances (bumps, etc) to initiate the start of a turn. Toe out encourages the initiation of a turn and providers for quick steering response, toe in discourages the initiation of a turn and provides better straight line stability.
If you set no toe at all you will have less directional stability, if you set too much toe in or toe out you will have excessive tire wear. Toe in is generally preferred for vehicles that drive on the street.
3/ WHAT ANGLE?
Factory spec is for a total toe in of +0.20°, +0.10° for each wheel. With a little bit of calculation based on your track (or point you are measuring from) and actual tire size you can work out what this is as a measurement.
For me, with 37's that measure 35.5" and a track of 69.5" it is almost exactly 1/8", so I need to set the rear to 69-9/16" and the front to 69-7/16", this will give me +0.20° toe in. 1/8" shorter at the front than the rear will put you pretty close to factory spec with 35s or 37s.
4/ MEASURING
Once you have your reference marks on the tires and know what angle/measurements you are aiming for then it is time to start measuring.
I use jack stands and 6' rulers graduated in 1/16ths, I also support the rulers in the middle otherwise they sag.
You want to measure the front and rear of the tire as close to half way up as you can get and obviously the same height front and rear. The pictures below should be self explanatory as to where you need to measure.
I have two rulers and measure front and rear at the same time, but you can just as easily do them one at a time with one ruler, it just takes a few minutes more.
5/ ADJUSTMENT
This is the easy bit, once you know the measurements that you are at, loosen the tie rod clamp and adjust the tie rod accordingly. I've found that 1/2 a turn makes about a 1/16" adjustment (with Poly Performance chromoly tie rod).
The first few times I did it, I drove the vehicle a little then did it all again, every time it was spot on to what I adjusted it to. This confirmed that the seam/mold mark was in fact perfectly central all the way round the tires. Now I just adjust it once and call it done.
The first couple of times will likely take a little longer, but once you've done it a few times it is a 10-15 minute job.
You can get within 1/32" pretty easily and consistently, which is 0.025°, which is within the factory spec of ±0.03°.
FRONT OF TIRE MEASUREMENT
![Image]()
REAR OF TIRE MEASUREMENT
![Image]()
REFERENCE LINE ACROSS LUG
![Image]()
ADJUSTING TIE ROD
![Image]()
This sounds like a lot of work, but really isn't and takes me about 10-15 minutes to adjust the toe, start to finish.
1/ REFERENCE MARKS
First thing you will need to do is find a reference mark, or make one, on the tire that is the same all round the tire. Some tires, like my KM2s have a center seam/mold mark which is pretty precise, other tires don't.
If you don't have a center seam mark or tread line that you can use you will have to make one. The easiest way is to raise the wheel off the ground and put a pin/tack/etc on the ground just touching the tread and spin the tire around, you can even do this with a fine tipped pencil. Obviously whatever you use to make the mark cannot move as you spin the tire. Some people spray some white paint around the tire first so that the pin mark will show up easily.
If you are using a mold mark, depending on how the tires are positioned the mold mark may be across a lug where you want to measure. In which case I just pencil a line across the lug based on the seam mark in the voids.
Some people use the sidewalls, but these are often not perfectly level, the sidewalls my KM2s vary by at least 1/8" in various places, and this could put your measurements out by 1/4" or more.
2/ TOE-IN OR TOE-OUT
Toe in will make the vehicle have more directional stability. Toe out will cause slight disturbances (bumps, etc) to initiate the start of a turn. Toe out encourages the initiation of a turn and providers for quick steering response, toe in discourages the initiation of a turn and provides better straight line stability.
If you set no toe at all you will have less directional stability, if you set too much toe in or toe out you will have excessive tire wear. Toe in is generally preferred for vehicles that drive on the street.
3/ WHAT ANGLE?
Factory spec is for a total toe in of +0.20°, +0.10° for each wheel. With a little bit of calculation based on your track (or point you are measuring from) and actual tire size you can work out what this is as a measurement.
For me, with 37's that measure 35.5" and a track of 69.5" it is almost exactly 1/8", so I need to set the rear to 69-9/16" and the front to 69-7/16", this will give me +0.20° toe in. 1/8" shorter at the front than the rear will put you pretty close to factory spec with 35s or 37s.
4/ MEASURING
Once you have your reference marks on the tires and know what angle/measurements you are aiming for then it is time to start measuring.
I use jack stands and 6' rulers graduated in 1/16ths, I also support the rulers in the middle otherwise they sag.
You want to measure the front and rear of the tire as close to half way up as you can get and obviously the same height front and rear. The pictures below should be self explanatory as to where you need to measure.
I have two rulers and measure front and rear at the same time, but you can just as easily do them one at a time with one ruler, it just takes a few minutes more.
5/ ADJUSTMENT
This is the easy bit, once you know the measurements that you are at, loosen the tie rod clamp and adjust the tie rod accordingly. I've found that 1/2 a turn makes about a 1/16" adjustment (with Poly Performance chromoly tie rod).
The first few times I did it, I drove the vehicle a little then did it all again, every time it was spot on to what I adjusted it to. This confirmed that the seam/mold mark was in fact perfectly central all the way round the tires. Now I just adjust it once and call it done.
The first couple of times will likely take a little longer, but once you've done it a few times it is a 10-15 minute job.
You can get within 1/32" pretty easily and consistently, which is 0.025°, which is within the factory spec of ±0.03°.
FRONT OF TIRE MEASUREMENT
REAR OF TIRE MEASUREMENT
REFERENCE LINE ACROSS LUG
ADJUSTING TIE ROD
