Add blur to gradient in Illustrator, without using Radial Blur effect

I have a circular gradient motif I want to add the feeling of movement to. Originally I had used the radial blur effect and achieved the desired outcome. But... I unfortunately didn't know using the effect would raster elements of the vector and thus lose quality / scalability. 

Questions:

1. Is there an alternative way to add the look of 'circular blur' to an object filled with a radial gradient or a gradient mesh? I need to keep it as a vector.

2. Any tips on maximising the quality of the objects which have had the radial blur applied? My current fix is to scale up the art board and artwork to 3000px, and ensure radial blur output is set to 'best'. This works, but the reality is it isn't 'completely' vector because of the effect.

Thanks for advice!