at what speed or (RPM) is it ideal to SHIFT in a 355 ferrari?
It depends on what you're doing. For maximum power, shift right before rev limiter. For cruising around, you would probably want to shift between 3000-3500.
just use the rev limiter as a shift light. thats what i do when you hear the revs bounce off the limiter, its time to shift
Just at redline if the road can manage it , otherwise whenever you feel like it, but don't get the engine knocking.
Or if your car was misbehaving recently you could always drive to work in 1st gear all the while bouncing the tack off the limiter. That's what I do.
After reading thru thread, it is pretty funny to here, but I assume that you are serious, so here is a serious answer: When cold, shift at 2500 or maybe a little more, to keep the rpm at 2000 when you hit the next gear. Most wear happens with a cold engine, so you want to really baby it then. After oil temp is really hot, you can shift faster if you try not to wring the last rpm out of it--don't get tunnel vision on the tack, and shift somewhere in the low 8's. The ryhthm is better this way.
Here's a place for more 'advanced' shifting techniques. http://318ti.org/notebook/shifting/index.html
Is shifting mandatory? I have been driving around in first gear .........................man................am I missing out on a bunch!