Clearances between engine parts?

Are clearances between engine parts in engines made today tighter that engines made in 1950s?

Are clearances between engine parts in engines made today tighter that engines made in 1950s?

Uhh, let me think about that one....


Absolutely! Common sense. I'm sure some of the tolerances achieved to keep a turbofan jet engine revving between 2-3,000 rpm for a 12 or more hour flight have trickled into the automotive industry.

I think that clearances remain about the same, but the tolerances are probably tighter since manufacturing has gotten so much better.(in theory anyway)

I don't think that it's right to think that a 1950s vehicle had huge gaps between the bearings and rotational surfaces compared to today's engines. They might've closed up a little on average, but I would think it would be because of manufacturing precision.

I guess to get the real story, you would have to look at manufacturing specifications, and compare them to see what the actual gap between parts was, and currently is.