It's not much of an issue with the plugs, well no more than with shorties. The problem lies in the starter more than plugs, They wrap around the starter so it gets REALLY hot i had trouble keeping a starter in my car, so i went with shorties, power loss was TINY and i gained more torque so i'm happy with it. As for the braces someone else can chime in i'm not sure but i've never heard of anyone having problems with them.
If you have a problem with your starter, invest the money in a Denso gear reduction starter. It's smaller, and will start anything. 1.7Kw starting power. I swapped, and never had a starter problem again. They sell them at Advance for like $170 I think.