Bittorrent usually won't give you great download speeds unless you're also uploading decently, unless the torrent has a seed ratio of something like 2.5:1. If you want faster download speeds (on a healthy torrent), upload more.
Also, cap your upload/download a bit below your max, not only will it make your browser/etc not lag like hell whenever BT is open, it'll somewhat increase the efficiency of your download. O'course, feel free to uncap it whenever you're not actually at your PC or using your connection.