The Short Version
- The C23 is 4×114.3. Four lugs on a bolt circle almost everyone associates with five.
- Nobody has published the C23’s hub bore. Both Japanese factory databases mark it as unresearched, across all 276 grade rows.
- The C24 onward is 5×114.3 on a 66 mm bore, and stays that way through the C25, C26 and C27.
- The newest C28 prints 66.1 mm, not 66. A tenth of a millimetre, but we report what the table says.
The 4×114.3 Problem
Four studs on a 114.3 mm circle is one of the genuinely dangerous fitments in the Japanese market, because it looks wrong to everybody. Sellers assume 4-lug means 100 mm. Buyers assume 114.3 means 5-lug. Wheels get shipped across the world and do not fit.
The C23 Serena is on it. We read 276 C23 grade rows in the factory database — the 1.6 petrol, the 2.0 diesel, FX, PX, Highway Star, the lot — and every single one is 114.3 mm, 4 holes. Typical fitment is 5.5J or 6J×14 at +30 or +45.
We have written about this pattern before on the Mitsubishi Minicab, and it has now caught two of the vehicles in this batch — the Serena here and the TownAce. It is more common on Japanese commercial-derived platforms than the aftermarket assumes.
And Nobody Measured the Bore
This is the honest part. On every C23 row, the hub bore cell is empty. On the equivalent grade page at the other Japanese database, it prints 調査中 — “under investigation.”
That is not a missing figure we could find elsewhere. It is the database stating that the number has never been researched. We are not going to substitute a plausible one. If you need it, measure your hub — our reference explains how, and it takes a caliper and two minutes.
Generation by Generation
| Generation | Period | Layout | PCD | Holes | Bore | Typical wheel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C23 | 1991–1999 | Mid-engine, RWD/4WD | 114.3 | 4 | Not researched | 5.5–6J×14 +30 / +45 |
| C24 | 1999–2005 | Front-drive minivan | 114.3 | 5 | 66 mm | 5.5J×15 +45 |
| C25 | 2005–2010 | Front-drive minivan | 114.3 | 5 | 66 mm | 5.5J×15 to 6J×16 +45 |
| C26 | 2010–2016 | Front-drive minivan | 114.3 | 5 | 66 mm | 5.5J×15 to 6J×16 +45 |
| C27 | 2016–2022 | Front-drive, e-Power | 114.3 | 5 | 66 mm | 5.5J×15 +45 |
| C28 | 2022– | Front-drive, e-Power | 114.3 | 5 | 66.1 mm | 6J×16 +45 |
Why the Change Happened
The C23 is a fundamentally different vehicle from everything after it. It is a mid-engined, rear-drive-based van — engine under the front seats, drive going backwards — sharing its thinking with the Vanette. The C24 in 1999 moved to a conventional front-drive minivan platform, and the hub hardware went with it.
So this is a real engineering changeover, not a parts-bin tidy-up, and it explains why the bolt pattern moved but the bolt circle did not. Nissan kept 114.3 and added a stud.
Highway Star and Rider Do Not Differ
Across the C24 to C26 rows we checked, the Highway Star, Highway Star V, Rider and Autech grades all share the base car’s 5×114.3 / 66 mm. What changes is wheel diameter and width — 15-inch on the base cars, 16-inch on Highway Star, up to 17-inch on some aero grades — and the offset stays at +45 throughout.
That +45 is worth noting. It is consistent enough across four generations that a C26 wheel will sit correctly on a C24, and vice versa, which makes used Serena wheels unusually interchangeable.
Importing
The C23 launched in 1991, so the whole generation is now eligible for US import. It is also the interesting one — a mid-engined van with a genuine 4WD option and no American equivalent. The C24 becomes eligible from 2024 onward on a rolling basis.
If you are importing a C23, budget for measuring the hub yourself. You will not find the figure published anywhere, and the wheels you want almost certainly assume five studs.
What We Could Not Verify
- The C23 hub bore. Both databases mark it unresearched. We are not guessing.
- Data for the earliest C23 cars. The database begins at 1994.05; the 1991–1994 cars are not covered, so we cannot confirm they match.
- Why the newest C28 prints 66.1 rather than 66. It may be a genuine change, or a change in how the figure is recorded.