woah, i missed this one...
dont shift your auto,,, bad idea, it defeats the point of an auto tranny.
for those of you that dont know, autos are faster in drag then manuals. any computer can shift faster then a hand of a human. anyway, if you really want to launch your auto, and you want to do it with the best performance with the least regaurd for you tranny, here is something that will actually help.
put your car in d4.
put your left foot FIRMLY on the break. now, when your getting ready to launch, rev the car with your foot on the break to abut 4k RPM, 3.5krpm is fine too. when you hit that, release the break either all at once to spin out the tires or slowly to manage the wheel spin. this is called BRAKE TORQUEING and it KILLS your tranny, as will most racing with an automatic car. although saying that, it is the only way to achieve a good launch with an auto.
one more thing, the myth about d3 being faster is false. the principal of the d3 setting is that the car will never shift to 4th gear. launching in d3 is the same as d4 and much more efficient then shifting your car through the gears, that just takes longer.
lastly, the ime to use d3 is from a roll. if your going about 40-60 and someone pulls up next to you and you "have" to race, drop it do d3 and your car will launch from 3rd gear. in that case, d3 is a whole world faster, but only in that case.
brake torqueing is not good for your engine or tranny, i wouldnt advise it, but ive done it, ive practiced it, but i dont recomend doing it at every stoplght unless yoou want a new tranny in a few weeks.
and also does it hurt ur tranny if i do d1 d2 d3 d4) 
