# Car commercial - Driving up the ramp of a moving truck like Knight Rider **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-commercial-driving-up-the-ramp-of-a-moving-truck-like-knight-rider/249090 "2004-06-07T13:06:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-commercial-driving-up-the-ramp-of-a-moving-truck-like-knight-rider/249090/21 "2004-06-08T02:07:20Z")
> [@Anachronism](#): > > It’ not just the mass of the wheels, the wheels are connected to the transmission and engine. The transmission is in the appropriate gear to turn the wheels at 70 so when the car makes the transsition (sp?) from road to ramp something is going to happen until the driver shifts down to an appropriate gear (or until the automatic transmission gets things sorted out). Most likley there will be some wheelspin when this happens. If you are travelling at 60mph down the highway, it’s wet, and you slam on the brakes while leaving the car in gear, the wheels are going to lock very very quickly (and the engine will stall). This is essentially what you’d be doing on the truck, except that, the surface under the wheels wouldn’t be moving so this would help the wheels to stop quicker, and if you popped the clutch in as you did it, you would avoid stalling the engine. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-commercial-driving-up-the-ramp-of-a-moving-truck-like-knight-rider/249090/22 "2004-06-08T02:16:49Z")
Come on people. They did it on **Fear Factor** for goodness sake. How hard can it be then? [http://www.nbc.com/Fear\_Factor/rewind/308\_rewind.shtml](http://www.nbc.com/Fear_Factor/rewind/308_rewind.shtml) > [@](#): > > The final three players were pumped for their final stunt, even as they arrived at what looked like a small deserted airport or landing strip. They soon learned that they would have to drive a car up the back ramp of an 18-wheeler car carrier while the carrier traveled at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Whoever completed the stunt the fastest would walk away $50,000 richer. Chad got behind the wheel first. The car started out adjacent to the big rig, so Chad had to drop back a bit when the horn signaled the start. In 10 seconds, Chad drove onto the ramp and was done. That would be tough to beat! Kate was next. She maneuvered quickly, but took 13 seconds, which eliminated her. The pressure was on Brandy. She raced alongside the big rig until the horn sounded. Then she dropped back and gunned towards the back of the truck. Unfortunately, her back tires got caught up on the ramp, lodging the car on the back of the big rig. Chad was the champ! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-commercial-driving-up-the-ramp-of-a-moving-truck-like-knight-rider/249090/23 "2004-06-08T03:14:54Z")
> [@1920s Style "Death Ray"](#): > > If you are travelling at 60mph down the highway, it’s wet, and you slam on the brakes while leaving the car in gear, the wheels are going to lock very very quickly (and the engine will stall). This is essentially what you’d be doing on the truck, except that, the surface under the wheels wouldn’t be moving so this would help the wheels to stop quicker, and if you popped the clutch in as you did it, you would avoid stalling the engine. And while you had the clutch in, you’d bang it into first gear to accelerate up the ramp. In an automatic, the torque convertor would have a brief moment of panic and stress while coping with the sudden change in driveshaft revs, and that would be it. I’d guess that on Fear Factor they were using an automatic, and it was just a matter of pointing and shooting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-commercial-driving-up-the-ramp-of-a-moving-truck-like-knight-rider/249090.md?page=1)