Seen this touched on a bit in the past, but wanted to ask the collective brain again.

The fastest launch technique for me is:

Trans in "S"
ASR "OFF"
Left foot firmly on brake
Right foot Revs engine to ~ 3000 RPM
Release brake, floor throttle simultaneously
Keep hands off flappy paddles and let the car do the shifting

In other words, the old "brakestand" trick.

This seems to build and maintain boost prior to and through launch... Very much faster, nearly a second to sixty faster than launching without using brakes...

Seems to me that this, with a foot of roll-out, is how you get a stock RS6 to hit 60 in the 4's...

The big question is how horrible is this for the trans/TC?

This is definitely not how I would typically launch the car as it makes me mildly uncomfortable -- I've never actually owned an auto trans performance car before this one. I had a friend with a Buick GNX who did this all the time, it was the only way he could spool up boost.

Is it OK once in a while when some tool in a G37 rolls up next to you at a light?