Lets say im going into a parking lot, would it be better to leave the car in 2nd and travel at around 1kRPM or would it be better to drop it in first and rev up to 4krpm? does it hurt the car if you travel in 2nd at 1krpm or just a little above?

 

I'm pretty sure it's good as long as you don't feel the engine bogging or struggling to stay awake. I myself shift to 2nd around 10 mph in a parking lot and try to keep that speed, only because I *hate* motoring around in first with that touchy throttle.