SuperG,
Don't goof around with fill factor; it's not worth the hassle of testing the various settings. Remember, it's the threshhold that BDE uses to determine whether or not an additional block is needed for data. That block is going to be needed at some point, so you might as well as leave that alone.
Performace improvements are often best gained through index-based approaches, e.g. actually using an index, or using a TCursor/SetRange to restrict data instead of queries.
Also, if you're using NT (you didn't say), deactivating the optimistic locking can help a great deal.
Finally, if you're using filters...pitch 'em. Ranges, though more restrictive, are much faster.
But these are shots in the dark. We'd really need more specifics about what you're doing, how you're getting it done, and the platform(s) you're doing it on. That will provide some details for us to work with. Also, check out the corelsupport.faqs.paradox newsgroup hosted by Corel; it has several useful articles on the subject.
Hope this helps...
-- Lance