I can see some tire wear on the outside of the left side tire and a slighter amount of wear on the outside of the right side tire. I checked the air pressure and the previous owner only had about 12 psi of air in the tires. Got them up to 30 psi . I was suspecting the toe might be off. Made up a fixture to measure toe and I got 39 3/16 at the rear and 39 1/2 at the front, so if anything I have toe out. Not what I was expecting based on tire wear.?
I expect the tires were never rotated so I will start there, but wonder if I should adjust the toe?
To set the toe find a level surface. HAND PUSH THE CAR 8 FEET and set the parking brake. (why) This allows the front end to stabilize and eliminates the affect of power or braking on the âat restâ alignment. Take a 24 inch piece of 2 X 6 and place it against the tire making sure it doesnât rest against the bulge on the bottom and mark front and rear even with the edge of the tire. with a magic marker. Do the same on the other side. Measure between the marks and this will give your toe reading. Adjust to 0 to 1/8 toe in. If you were more than 1/4 inch off you need to do the 8 foot back and forth bit and measure it again. You might have to do this 3 times or more. When you can push it back and forth and the toe doesnât change your done.
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Thanks, if I am understanding this, itâs a great method, seems like it might be more accurate than what I was doing. Not quite sure how to avoid the tire bulge though.
Not quite sure how to avoid the tire bulge though.
Set the 2x6 you are using for measuring on a 2x4. As long as the 2x6 is above the tire bulge you are good.
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Got it. Thanks. This confirms I was understanding Old Houseboatsâs description.
You tilt the 2x6 so that you are contacting the sidewall on 2 points .
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As Old_Houseboater stated you use a 2x6 specifically because itâs tall(5 1/2") and when laid on the 2"(1.5") side and you tilt it so the top inside edge contacts the tire 5 1/2" above the ground that contact will be above the bulge and the over-all board length will be parallel with those to points.
You want to have a straight 2x6.
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Ok, I may not be understanding this. Maybe a sketch would help ?
Nice job dougl!
I was scrounging for something just like this. You beat me to it.
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Great job. Thanks. This part is very clear.
What is not so clear is how marking both sides and comparing the measurements. It seems like all I am doing is comparing tire size, as both sets of marks would be near identical, or am I not seeing the second steps correctly? Maybe another sketch showing where to measure ?
Ok now I get it. Itâs two 2x6, I was trying to make 1 workâŚâŚduh.
Thanks for getting me straightened out.
Make sure you get your 2x6 boards centered on the wheel if you are measuring from the ends like this. Make a couple of marks at the tire edges so you are consistent when moving things around.
You might need to pace a sandbag/paint can/brick/weight on the board if it moves around when running the tape across front and back.
You could run tape across the top of the board right at the tire across to the other side but there might be too much sag in your tape at the middle(depending on your tape). Youâd have to tug on it a bit.
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I did with one board. I made 3 marks on the board, one was on the top edge and marked the center of the Wheel and the other marks were forward and back of the tire marks. I used a straight edge to make the marks on the top edge and then scribe them down both sides.
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put an F on the front end of the board, light up the center mark with the center of the wheel then draw
a âTâ on the outside of the board at the front of the tire mark and another âTâ at the rear of the tire mark.
note: the âlegâ of the âTâ is the line which lines up with the mark on the board. -
move the board to the other side of the GEM, keeping the F marked end of the board in front of the tire. Make the âTâ marks.
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measure the distance between the Front of the tire lines at the âTâ leg mark and measure the distance between the Rear of the tire lines at the âTâ leg.
If they are identical then you have no toe-in or toe-out.
if the front distance is more than the rear distance then you have some toe-out
if the rear distance is more then the front distance then you have some toe-in
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I suspect you were a geometry teacher in a previous life 
So I have a 2016 Gem e4 and the rear tires are wearing badly on the inside. But I canât see a way to adjust anything with the rear tires, what am I missing?
How long have you had this car?
Is it possible that the tires were rotated from the front? (what do your front tires look like?)
My docs do not go this new so I donât know what your rear axle looks like.
Does it look like your axle is bent?
If you just stand back and look at the wheels are they sitting straight?
Jack up the rear of the car and give each wheel a tug. Are the bearings worn out?
did someone weld a trailer hitch to the cross-bar between the left and right rear axle mounts?
Sounds like something might be bent if the 2016 rear end is a ridged swing-arm like earlier models.
If independent suspension then either too much weight and/or the springs are worn.
So I havenât had the vehicle for very long, but it has a little over 2,000mi on it. There is a tow hitch on the rear bumper, but it looks factory. It looks like someone backed it into something at some point because the metal bumper guard is very bent. Iâll add pictures later.