Yes you can, that is what we are talking about. If you remove your console you will see a black rubber kinda block, on the shifter mechanism, remove it(I used a razor blade) and you will now be able to engage 1st gear. Your selector wil still say D-3-2 but you can go down one more spot that doesn't show on the selector.

 

Ok, here's my .02 cents

NEVER downshift a automatic manualy(moving your shifter) unless you want to do a rebuild.

Opening 1st gear is fine and causes no harm, the only reason it was blocked was because in first gear they said the stock car was too loud for regulations.

Upshifting is fine for your transmission, people think it's faster to race that way so they do it manualy.. although i don't know why.. do you think you can shift better then a computer that does it the exact time every time? i don't think i could

 

Care to explain the reason behind that statement? I've downshifted my car easily about 50-60 times when getting ready to race from a slow roll.. (back when I used to street race)

there are NO problems with my tranny which has about 130-150 passes at the track....

Explain to me how pushing the shift lever back a notch is different than hitting the throttle and having the PCM downshift for you...

think about it.

trey -> i have not mixed up a thing.

 

Dude, this is complete nonsense. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

 

i'll just listen to my buddies who are tranny builders
you guys can do as you wish

 

Down shifting manually does nothing worse to the tranny than the PCM does when it downshifts automatically. The only thing that could be worse is leaving the tranny in a gear too long and that would cause more heat...which is the main cause of tranny failure. I agree that you should let the PCM control your shifts while racing...it's more consistent.

 

I could be very wrong on this, but this is my theory. When you hit the pedal and the car downshifts on its own, I'd think it syncronizes the revs of the engine, etc. to the speed the wheels are at; whereas when you downshift manually, the engine is mechanically forced into higher rpms if you aren't on the gas well enough, and creates a large shock on the trans, thus causing wear and tear. Kinda the same way you can shift a manual without a clutch sometimes, but if the rpms/gas pedal aren't right it'll mess things up badly if you can manage to slam it in gear.