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There is another thread discussing this very topic where someone brought up the fact that alternators are AC motors, not DC. So, this complicates things. Turning an AC motor gets kinda complicated, especially when you want to do it with a DC power source and control the speed of it. So, I think the way to go is with a DC motor.
As for how fast to turn it, do you mean pulley ratios? I would gear it as low as possible. Figure out what rpm it is capable of and gear it so that it reaches something close to max rpm at engine redline.
I think such a system would allow you to get the considerable percentage of your power from the electric motor at cruise speed. You might even get away with leaning out your fuel/air ratio a fair bit as the motor wouldn't be working all that hard, kind of like honda does with the insight and VX under low load situations.
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