i initally took mine to a "reputable shop", only to trash a set of tires in 4500 miles... turned out he set the toe to almost 5/8" total (should have been 1/8") when i started the new job, i took it in and set it with the hunter 4 wheel rack we have. you can get it fairly close with nothing more than a 6" torpedo level, and a roll of string. first, jack the car up using the lower control arm as a jack point. remove the wheel, and lower the car to normal ride height, next , lay the level against the spindle in front of the ball joints, spanning the mounting bosses for the ball joints.the bubble should be in the middle, or toward the front of the car, ideally. next, lay the level against the rim, up and down. you want the bubble dead center, or slightly away from the car this time. juggling shims will let you move the bubble around until you get all settings pretty much where you want them.i wont go into setting toe, as you can no doubt find that by doing a search for front end alignment with a string.i used this method for setting my car before i did the laser alignment the second time, and got it really close to the proper specs,so i know this way works. you just need to be patient, and set everything evenly side to side, and recheck your setting after you tighten the upper control arms down, as the caster and camber will change slightly when you snug the arms down.
