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Old 05-28-2010, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Poway, CA
2,698 posts, read 12,134,352 times
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I'm trying to teach the wife to drive a manual tranmission this weekend and need a safe space to do it in. She really needs to practice hill starts, so a good slope is preferred. I've driven around RTP, but most lots are either chained off or have security.

If anyone knows of a good spot, I'd really appreciate it.

Mike
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Old 05-28-2010, 01:48 PM
 
Location: Durham, NC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteboyslo View Post
I'm trying to teach the wife to drive a manual tranmission this weekend and need a safe space to do it in. She really needs to practice hill starts, so a good slope is preferred. I've driven around RTP, but most lots are either chained off or have security.

If anyone knows of a good spot, I'd really appreciate it.

Mike
The Measurement Inc. parking lot on Morris St. in downtown Durham near the old Durham Athletic Park (the old one, not the new home of the team) has a good bit of a slope. It's not in use most weekends, having once been the home of the farmers' market that's now moved next door -- but still gets some farmers' market parking, so Sunday would be your best bet. There's a decent slope to that lot IIRC.
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Old 05-28-2010, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Downtown Raleigh, NC
2,086 posts, read 7,628,958 times
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How about a multi-floor parking deck during off hours? I don't know of any specific ones in Durham to recommend, but that might be a good option.

When I was practicing driving my car after I bought it, I found one piece of advice really seemed to be key - finding the engagement point for the clutch. I already knew the technique of driving a manual, but finding that point of engagement was what had made things challenging for me.

The way that I was able to really "get it" was by getting the car moving in first gear on a flat surface without using the gas. Sounds nuts, but it really makes you ease very slowly off the clutch and find that point of engagement. For me it was the "aha" moment.

I hope you find a suitable spot. I love driving a manual transmission and wonder why I didn't start driving one sooner! Hopefully your wife will enjoy it as well!
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Old 05-28-2010, 02:17 PM
 
Location: Durham, NC
305 posts, read 759,103 times
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I'm wondering if either of the two big church parking lots off Fayetteville south of Southpoint Mall might work? I seem to recall there's a bit of a hill coming down to those lots, but I don't remember if they have hills within the lots themselves. Obviously Sunday might be tough, but they may be pretty quiet on Saturday.
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Old 05-28-2010, 03:16 PM
 
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If your wife has a driver's license just find an empty subdivision. Makes the experience more realistic.

Good luck ... but kudos to both of you for learning/using what's quickly becoming a lost art.

Frank
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Old 05-28-2010, 04:23 PM
 
Location: Poway, CA
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thanks all.

she's actually pretty darn good at it. i've been teaching her off and on for years (her motivation's never really been there), but there are circumstances next weekend that basically require her to be able to drive my vehicle. we've been working on it the last few weeks and she's got a real nice technique developed (super smooth), but she still gets a little psyched out on hill starts or sitations where she has to get going in a hurry. my plan is to take her car with and have her practice taking off on a hill with her car behind her (after she gets the feel for it, of course).

good advice on the technique, miamiblue. i actually taught her how to idle off the line without gas in the first few vehicles i taught her in. problem is, she overestimates the amount of torque my current lil 4-banger has vs those vehicles (04 GTO, 89 F-250 with granny 1st gear), so she does stall it off the line sometimes. oh well. better than revving the snot out of it and killing the clutch or worse, i guess. after we get the hill starts down, i'm going to start teaching her how to rev match. really looking forward to that one because i find it so much fun. and then, who knows? maybe i'll have a co-driver for my next auto-x event, lol.

we'll scout out the parking lots of the chruches this evening. i forgot about those, but they may be just the ticket.

Mike
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Old 05-28-2010, 06:08 PM
 
276 posts, read 646,755 times
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Triangle Presbyterian off Hwy54, about a mile from Southpoint has hills in the parking lot, you could probably try there. I learned how to drive a car when I was 14 in a church parking lot, seems like the perfect place to do it!
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Old 05-28-2010, 06:16 PM
 
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When I learned, and was scared of stopping on a hill, I cheated by using the hand brake so I could have both feet for clutch and accelerator.
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Old 05-28-2010, 09:35 PM
 
Location: Wake County
345 posts, read 1,058,220 times
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We taught our daughter on a really poor dirt road. Winding, hilly...taught her how to recover from fishtailing in the gravel. She drives a stick all the time now...prefers it. Good luck and have fun!!
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Old 05-29-2010, 05:36 AM
 
306 posts, read 717,825 times
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My dad taught me in a cemetery when I was 15 because he never wanted me to be in a situation where I couldn't drive myself home. He drove it up onto an incline, pulled on the the emergency break, and said "drive!"...............been driving a manual ever since.
I liked the cemetery because the "roads" were paved and it was easy to learn the clutch on the inclines--they weren't necessarily the steepest hills, but they allowed you to learn the "process" of how a clutch works. Best of luck.
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