"D" for Drive or "Stick it" ( 420 SEL) ?

[Todd W126]

I'm looking for some opinions with regards to leaving my tranny in "D" all the time as opposed to moving through the gears manually. My engine/trans are in VERY good operating condition. Just yesterday on the way to work, I experimented with manual shiffting and found it to be quite robust, especially when pulling away from lights etc.

I'm curious as to how others operate their trans's, especially V-8 owners.

This is directed to the mechs/techs:

Am I risking any harm to the trans using the manual shift method? It's not like I'm smoking the tires or such but rather just utilizing somewhat higher rpm's(2200-2600rpm shift points) of the motor thru the gear changes as opposed to that gawd awful lag when leaving a stop in "D". I could pitch a tent while waiting for this thing to hit 35-40 MPH with it in "D".

What about mileage? adversely affected?

Thanks for any replies and ........

cheers, Todd