I use reverse to shift. Start driving, and when you get to the red line, tap reverse, and it shifts. It's helpful on cars with small turbos that take a while to spool up. The turbo boost doesn't drop at all, so it's always there. You can also downshift the same way.
I like to set the diff on FF cars to 5,5,5, and then put one wheel on the road and one on the grass(or dirt) and hold the parking brake, and when the one on the road starts to spin, let off, and try to get the wheel on the grass to spin at top speed, while the other on is stopped. Then let of the parking brake and do a 1-wheel-peel down the road.