Re: Basic front wheel alignment at home for free with the right tools

Ivano Rossi wrote:

What basic tools are needed to do a simple alignment check at home?

I do my own alignments at home.
Front or back separately.  Not all four at the same time.
Toe:  Board or pipe that will fit between the wheels.  Measure distance from Front side of wheels and Rear side of wheels.  Compare distances.
Caster / camber:  magnetic inclinometer.  Check caster by sticking it on the struts.  Check camber by sticking it on the wheels or hub.  Some (most?) cars will not have adjustments for caster and possibly not camber.  You may have to slot arms and towers with a grinding tool.
If you can't find spots for the magnetic gauge then remove a front wheel and lower the rotor onto a wooden block so that the distance from hub to ground is exactly the same as with wheel on.  It may not make for perfect measurements but will get your car in the allowable range.
The tools that you mentioned are nice but expensive.
A board with nails or clamps will work for toe.
A simple mechanical incline gauge works for C/C.
Johnson Level & Tool 700 Magnetic Angle Locator.

I'm aware you can't easily do a comprehensive four-wheel alignment check at
home (e.g., to check if a vehicle has been in an accident) but at home you
generally are checking your own vehicles which you know the history of.
 All you really need to check, I think, is caster, camber & toe, right?
And caster is a mathematical function of camber, right?
 So do I only need to accurately check camber and toe?
 If so, what tools do I need to check that at home, and what basic methods
are needed? For example, on Amazon are these $50 toe alignment plates.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1XZ6H8D
 But those toe alignment plates bolt to the axle? Really?
Don't we want to perform toe measurements with the vehicle on the ground in
the normal sprung geometry? On a turning plate perhaps?
 Since those toe alignment plates have a strap, can they be used with the
wheel on (I realize the tire pushes the alignment plate out about an inch).
 For camber, this $100 camber angle gauge seems to be a magnetic mount.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB7V3SU/
 Is that sufficient to measure camber & toe (caster can be calculated)?
Or do I also need this wheel clamp contraption to get the camber right?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07532CB8M/