I hate to quote myself but...
"The other approach is simply to keep in mind that the edge of the front tire is in alignment with the edge of the rear tire, so using the sideview mirror angled down a little and looking at the position of the rear tire you can infer the position of the front tire."
Just think about geometry in high school, or multiple combination shots playing pool.
If you can just visualize the angles, you shouldn't have any trouble.
And about rims - the only scratches I have on mine are on the rims!
When I had an alignment done last year the dipsh!ts at the shop somehow scratched up every single rim. It is mindboggling how that was done, since I have the 33's on the stock rims and the rubber sidewall sticks out at least a couple inch from the rim!
