This might sound strange or random, but I wanted to call upon your guys' knowledge. This girl at school asked if I could teach her to drive a stick, but I'd really only be comfortable doing so in a large, open area. I figured in the city, the best bet would be a really large parking lot that might be empty the majority of the time. Do you any of you guys know a particularly good place like this? It'd be best if it also didn't have any or many lights or other "obstacles" in the middle.

 

not sure how far you live but CLC parking lot in Grayslake is a good place to learn how to drive stick....

 

Possibly the top deck of the Home Depot on Roosevelt? Then, as the ultimate challenge, the ramp uphill to the top deck.

 

no lights so you can make out = ) lol. jk.... teach her in a beater man i hope u dont teach her in yr S. i tought my friend in my S and da damn clutch ****ed up a lil bit after... i learned my lesson...

NEIUs parking lot is totally empty on sundays. huge parking lot.

 

I've found girls tend to be better manual transmission drivers then guys. At least at first. Girls tend to be smooth...guys tend to want to force things.

 

I think girls have more finesse and are a bit more hesitant at first, guys are always cocky when they first drive stick or try to. Everyone and their momma thinks its a piece of cake when they first try, and minutes thereafter stall.....

 

Yeah, I learned in college. A friend of mine taught me and a female friend of mine. I stalled right away, she didn't. Cut to 6 years later and she took 2nd place in SCCA Nationals STUL division.

 

I remember my first time driving stick in my buddies Toyota Paseo back in Highschool. With a back seat full of friends mind you. Needless to say I think I stalled like 4 times in a row. The added pressure made it worse.

 

OK. Back on topic. If you're in the north burbs then CLC is a great place. If you're in the Skokie area, Niles West, my old highschool has a nice long parking lot to practice 1-2 shifting etc.. Nice and empty on weekends. (I'd assume other high schools or colleges would make decent places, once you can find out when its the emptiest). In Des Plaines, the main lot at OCC (oakton community college) is nice and large, but availability is scattered, as there are night and weekend classes going on etc. Sundays are probably fine though.

The only place I can think of in the city REMOTELY decent enough to try would be Montrose Park. The parking lot is pretty big, but you'd have to find a day that wouldn't be very crowded. I'd assume weekdays are a much better time to try.
A road that is relatively quiet on the evenings is that access road from where the Planetarium is, going to where Meigs Field was. People rarely go down that road, and it makes for a scenic teaching grounds. That's about all I can think of in the city.

 

[QUOTE=tcho82,Apr 22 2008, 01:02 PM] A road that is relatively quiet on the evenings is that access road from where the Planetarium is, going to where Meigs Field was.