Every new car I've ever purchased has recommended ridiculous shift pts in their owner's manual. The shift pts are supposed to be optimal for getting the best gas mileage you can wring out of your car. I have never met anyone who adhered to this rec, its absurd, and on a high powered sports car its laughable.

Some people think its a child of the '70s Oil Crisis, when a gallon of gas went from 18 cents(I am not making this up) to over a dollar in a matter of a couple of months in 1973. NOT!

No cigar, my 1965 Triumph TR4 rec'd the same sort of shift pts in the owner's manual, too. Its origin probably dates from the earliest days of driving; 1900's when a gallon of gas was considered quite expensive for new owners of a scarce mode of transportation, there weren't gas stations on every corner and smaller towns didn't have any at all. If you read the history of the automobile, early car trips were considered great adventures, not ho-hum, its only 50 miles away, when you averaged 20-30 miles a day!

Boomer babble--sometimes a grain of truth.
BR/FR/AT

 

In the situation you described - 3rd gear would be the way to go for max takeoff. I believe - the engine can take it fine after the break in period. As mentioned- you won't be in 3rd for more than a couple seconds...