Toe Conversion Calculator
Alignment specs come in degrees, inches or millimetres depending on who wrote them. Convert between all three for your tire size.
Convert a toe spec
- Angle to distance depends on tire diameter. The same 0.1 degrees is a bigger measurement on a 33 inch tire than a 24 inch one.
- Check whether your spec is total or per wheel before adjusting anything. Getting it wrong doubles or halves the setting.
- Positive is toe-in, wheels pointing toward each other at the front.
Why the same spec comes in three units
Toe is an angle, so degrees describe it properly. But it gets measured as a distance, the difference between the front and rear of the tire across the wheel, because that is what you can actually put a tape on.
Converting between the two needs the tire diameter, and that is the part people skip. An eighth of an inch of toe on a 24 inch tire is a different angle than an eighth of an inch on a 33 inch tire. Feed the wrong diameter in and the conversion is wrong.
Total or per wheel
This causes more bad alignments than any other single thing. Distance specs are usually total across both wheels. Angle specs on a modern alignment rack are usually per wheel. A manual that says 0.20 degrees without saying which is ambiguous, and guessing wrong gives you double or half the intended setting.
What toe does
Toe-in makes a car track straighter and feel more stable, and it is what almost every rear-wheel drive vehicle runs at the front to take up slack in the steering under load. Toe-out makes the car turn in more eagerly and feel nervous in a straight line.
Either way, toe is the alignment angle that destroys tires fastest. A quarter inch out will feather the tread visibly within a few thousand miles. If a set of tires wore out unusually early and the edges feel sawtoothed when you run a hand across them, toe is the first thing to check.
Frequently asked questions
How many degrees is 1/8 inch of toe?
On a 26 inch tire, an eighth of an inch of total toe is about 0.275 degrees total, or roughly 0.14 degrees per wheel. Change the tire diameter and the answer changes, which is why the calculator asks for it.
Is toe-in or toe-out better?
Neither, they do different jobs. Toe-in gives straight line stability and is what most road cars are specified at. Toe-out sharpens turn-in and is used on the front of some front-wheel drive and track-focused cars. Run what the manufacturer specifies unless you have a specific reason not to.
Can I set toe at home?
You can get close with a tape measure across the front and rear of the tires at hub height, or with a pair of strings run down the side of the car. It will not be as good as a rack, and it does nothing for camber and caster. It is enough to get a car driveable after replacing a tie rod, not enough to call the job finished.
What does bad toe wear look like?
Feathering. Run your hand across the tread sideways and it feels smooth one way and sharp the other, like a saw. Too much toe-in wears the outer edges, too much toe-out wears the inner edges. Even wear across a shoulder is usually camber, not toe.
Everything on this page is an estimate worked out from the numbers you entered and typical figures for the conditions you picked. Your vehicle, your parts and your conditions will differ. Check anything you intend to act on against the manufacturer's specification, the service manual, or a qualified technician. Verifying the result before relying on it is up to you.