probably a dumb question but will shifting 1-3 manually provide better acceleration before going into drive or will that just **** my car up??? Figured that i'd better ask first before trying :P

 

Get a transmission kit or convert the car to manual

 

I don't know about the acceleration part, but it will not harm the transmission.

I'm assuming you are talking about an automatic trans.

 

You are more likely to mess things up. The TCU is much better at determining when to shift. It's not like a manual, it is not going to shift immediately when you move the lever. You risk redlining and bouncing off the rev limiter which can cause engine problems and additional wear on the transmission clutches. This is going to particularly be true on a stock transmission where the shifts are soft and tons of slippage between shifts to begin with.

 

Time to upgrade to an HLSD 6 speed

 

if you are redlining it, i would not recommend it. like previously stated, the auto trans takes time to change up through the gears, so when you think youve shifted from say first to second by moving the stick right at redline, it will linger there, or worse, increase rpms further while changing since you'll have your foot down. Great way to overheat the engine and cause problems.

The only reason to use the gear selector is if you want to remain in a gear for an extended period of time so the trans doesnt auto shift you up or down.