The R clips are fine, just screw in the mounting screws some more so you have to push down the strap a little to put the clip in. You could also try turning the screws so the clips go in from the side instead of from the front or back. Stops them coming out if you ram loads of stuff
As for the shocks, they will be just fine for the time being with the money better spent on tyres, a decent speedo/motor combo and 2 or 3 good lipos and the charger to go with the lipos. The only real "advantage" of the FT shocks is they look trick and might last a little longer between rebuilds.
The aluminium front brace is not really a necessary upgrade really either. Without the aluminium your bulkhead is more likely to break, with the aluminium your wishbones are more likely to snap. The bulkhead is cheaper
Not much point in pimping out an RTR in my opinion as you can pick up a decent team car (one down from the FT) for as little as 50 quid second hand, which is a fiver more than what most people want for they FT shocks.
You could then break up the RTR for spares or sell it on when the time comes.
Don't spend money on bling that doesn't make any difference to the cars handling. Getting you basic setup right and practising your nuts off will make you a hell of a lot quicker than tossing money at your car!