An alloy nose cone, and an adapter so GRK4 and GRK5 cars can take it

Two claims are made for the new cone, and they are worth separating. The first is weight: the maker describes it as lighter than what it replaces, without giving a figure. The second is structural, and it is the more interesting design decision. Mounting holes have been added to the underside of the cone so the left and right sides can be linked to each other, which SHIBATA says raises support rigidity at the front of the chassis.

That is a front end being tied together rather than merely dressed. On a RWD drift car the nose carries steering loads and the first contact with a wall, and a part that can be cross-braced is a different proposition from a part that simply hangs off two screws.

The fitment history is the reason the adapter exists. The GS2MOD spec came first; the GRK4/5 fitment is the one used on the GRK5RYH full kit, and the adapter is what lets an owner of the older or newer front end run the same cone. Where the screws land on each chassis is a question for the kit's own documents — the GS2 Modified manual is on its RTFM page, with the GRK4 and GRK5-R pages alongside it.

The spur gear holder plate is the one the post's author singles out. Its stated job is to hold a precision-cut racing spur gear accurately and suppress wobble in it; the change from carbon to aluminium brings a small weight increase, which SHIBATA says should produce a flywheel effect and a different rotation feeling when the trigger is released. That is the maker's expectation as written, not a tested result.

The suspension block Ver2 updates the existing R31S303BK low-height adjustable block, first used on the GRK5-R HRP full kit. The addition is a pillow ball hole in the side block for toe control when an A-arm knuckle is fitted, which the maker points at multi-use rear knuckle and other A-arm setups. The GRK4 alloy lower arm, R31S306, simply gains red and purple; the post notes it serves both as a GRK4/GRK5 replacement and as part of a GS2MOD or GS2 EVO rear A-arm conversion. All of the aluminium parts are described as cut at a Japanese factory.

Nothing here is a chassis. Every item on the list is either a replacement for a part owners already have, a colour added to one, or an adapter whose only function is to make a new part fit an older car. SHIBATA's own framing is that the cone and the adapter let you update what is in the pits to suit your car's spec.

That matters for a brand with a long back catalogue. The GRK line runs from the AWD GLOBAL and GLOBAL STANDARD kits through the switchable GLOBAL2 and GS2 to the RWD GRK4, GRK5, GRK5-R, GS2 EVO and GS2 Modified, with the first GRK dating from May 2012 per the maker's history page. A front end that can be carried across generations with an adapter is a quieter kind of product decision than a new kit launch, and a more useful one for anyone still running a GRK4.

The full list, with the maker's own wording on each part, is in SHIBATA's new product release post. The GRK range and its history are on the brand's product history page.