Hey now I know that I aint as dumb as I thought I was. I have been doing this same thing for about 8 or 9 years now also with great results and a lot of money saved, The only thing I do different is that I wrap the string around all four tires at the same time. I live in an area with mostly dirt roads and my truck is always getting knocked out of alignment so I brainstormed this idea years ago in an attempt to save a buck. I've even had a couple of "Certified Mechanics" chuckle at the concept until they realized what a great idea it was and then saw how close I was to dead nuts alignment. Don't knock red-neck ingenuity...lol.