The Hijet is the kei truck Japan actually buys. It has been in production since 1960, it is the vehicle behind the Subaru Sambar badge since 2012, and it is the one you are most likely to end up with if you buy a Japanese mini truck sight-unseen.
Wheel-wise it is also the simplest of the three big kei trucks — one bolt pattern, one hub bore, one factory wheel size, essentially unchanged for decades. The complications are elsewhere: which generation you actually have, whether it is legal to import yet, and what the brakes behind the wheel are.
The Short Version
- 4×100, 54 mm hub bore, 12×4.00B at +40. That is the answer for every Hijet Truck and Hijet Cargo generation we could confirm.
- 145R12 6PR is the standard tyre. From January 2001, 4WD trucks could be ordered with 145R13 LT 6PR — a factory 13-inch option that most people do not know exists.
- Steel wheels only. We found no factory alloy option on any Hijet Truck or base Cargo grade, across the whole lineage.
- The “Jumbo” extended cab is bodywork, not a different chassis. Same wheels.
- Most S200P/S210P trucks are not yet legal to import into the US. That generation ran 1999 to 2014; only the first two and a half years of it have passed 25 years.
Which Hijet Do You Have
| Chassis | Years | Engine | US 25-year status |
|---|---|---|---|
| S80 / S81 | 1986–1990 | EB 550 cc; supercharged “Pick” from 1987 | Eligible |
| S82 / S83 | 1990–1994 | EF 660 cc | Eligible |
| S100P / S110P | 1994–1999 | EF-ES; EF-GS DOHC from 1996 | Eligible |
| S200P / S210P → S201P / S211P | 1999–2014 | EF-SE / EF-VE, then KF-VE DOHC from Dec 2007 | Only built on or before July 2001 |
| S500P / S510P | 2014– | KF-VE 658 cc DOHC | Not eligible |
The odd numbers are the 4WD versions — S81, S83, S110P, S210P, S510P. The even ones are 2WD. That convention holds across the whole range and is the quickest way to read a chassis plate.
The S200P generation is where people get caught. It looks like an old truck, it is cheap, and it ran for fifteen years. As of mid-2026, only units built up to July 2001 have cleared the 25-year line. A 2004 S200P is not importable for road use, whatever the seller says.
Factory Wheel and Tyre
| Bolt pattern | 4×100 |
| Hub bore | 54 mm |
| Stud thread | M12×1.5 |
| Factory wheel | 12×4.00B |
| Offset | +40 |
| Standard tyre | 145R12 6PR |
| Optional tyre (4WD, from Jan 2001) | 145R13 LT 6PR |
| Hijet Cargo S700V / S710V | 145/80R12 80/78N LT |
| Material | Steel |
Daihatsu is the one maker in this class whose stud thread we could confirm consistently: M12×1.5. Do not carry that assumption across to a Honda or a Suzuki.
The 54 mm hub bore is the number that matters when someone offers you “kei truck wheels.” Suzuki runs around 60 mm and Honda around 56 mm. All three are 4×100, so the studs will line up on all of them — and a 60 mm Suzuki wheel will sit loose on a 54 mm Daihatsu hub unless it is centred with a ring. A 54 mm Daihatsu wheel will not go onto a Suzuki hub at all.
The Brakes Behind the Wheel
Front disc brakes arrived on the Hijet gradually, and the change happened inside generations rather than between them. Discs became standard on all 4WD trucks in March 1991, and on all 2WD trucks in March 1992. Before that they were an option on upper 4WD grades only.
This matters for two reasons. If you are looking at a late-1980s truck, two apparently identical trucks may have different front hardware. And if you are fitting anything other than the factory steel wheel, the caliper is the thing that decides whether it clears — on a 12-inch wheel there is not much room to be wrong.
Jumbo, Climber and the Agricultural Pack
Daihatsu sells the Hijet in variants that sound mechanically significant and mostly are not, at least where wheels are concerned.
Jumbo is the extended cab — the one with the sleeper space behind the seats and the shorter bed. It has been offered since 1983 and continues on the current S500P. We found no evidence of a different wheelbase, hub, brake or wheel specification versus the standard cab of the same chassis code. It is bodywork.
Climber, Twin-cam Special and the agricultural pack (農用パック) are the ones worth caring about. These add a two-speed Hi-Lo transfer case and a rear differential lock — a genuine crawler gear rather than just four-wheel drive. If you are buying a mini truck for a farm or a hunting property, that is the specification to look for, and it is far more consequential than any wheel choice.
If Your Truck Says Subaru
From April 2012, the Subaru Sambar is a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet. A Sambar Truck S500J is a Hijet S500P; a Sambar S510J is a Hijet S510P. Same 4×100, same 54 mm bore, same 12×4.00B at +40.
Before April 2012, it is not. The old Sambar was Subaru’s own rear-engined design — a genuinely different vehicle, and we were not able to confirm that its hub bore matches the Daihatsu. If you have a TT1 or TT2 Sambar, measure before you buy Hijet wheels for it.
Buying Wheels for a Hijet
Three honest observations.
The factory wheel is almost certainly fine. A 12-inch steel wheel with a 6PR commercial tyre on it is a well-matched combination for a vehicle rated to carry 350 kg over its rear axle. Most reasons to change it are cosmetic, which is a legitimate reason but should be an informed one.
If you go to alloy, read the load rating. Kei truck wheels in Japan are normally certified to JWL-T — the truck and bus standard — rather than the JWL mark you find on a passenger car wheel. On a dual-certified wheel the load figure is prefixed VIA-T. We have written about that in more detail in the kei truck and kei van overview.
13 inches is a factory size, not just an inch-up. The 145R13 LT option on 4WD trucks from 2001 means Daihatsu itself signed off on a 13-inch commercial tyre for this chassis. If you want a slightly taller tyre without leaving load-rated rubber behind, that is the size to look for.
What We Could Not Verify
- Exact factory tyre sizes for the S80 through S110P generations (pre-1999). The 145R12 6PR figure is confirmed for later trucks.
- Any factory alloy wheel option on a Hijet Truck. We found none in any source, which is itself informative but is not the same as a manufacturer statement that none existed.
- Turbo engine code for the current S700V Hijet Cargo “Cruise Turbo”.
- Hub bore for the pre-2012 Subaru Sambar. Do not assume 54 mm.
Related Fitment Guides
- Kei trucks and kei vans overview — the rebadging map, the Minicab bolt pattern trap, and JWL-T explained
- Suzuki Jimny — a kei-class 4×4 on a full truck bolt pattern
- How to read the markings on a Japanese wheel
Getting Hijet Wheels From Japan
We source in Japan to order. Tell us the chassis code from the plate — S500P, S211P, S331V — not the badge and not the year, and tell us whether the truck works or sits. Use the Request page. A photograph of the back of your existing wheel is the single most useful thing you can send us.