[markrusslegg]

Wait a minute. The stretch of a tining chain cannot be altered by increasing the frequency of oil changes and the timing chain only times the cam shafts to the crank shaft so it sees only rpm's; the load on a vehicle is not a factor unless you say that the load forces the motor to undergo higher rpm's for a longer period of time.
Timing chains do stretch and the old method of checking one is to put the chain on a table and look at the slump in the chain. My friend's 69 Camaro went out at 198,000 miles (we were driving home from work) and I change one in my 69 Nova at about 120,000 miles because I changed the cam. It was easy in theose days. Pull the radiator and remove the water pump and you have a ton of room.
Make the timing chain quieter? Has anybody ever heard a chain noise above the noise of the motor in general? There was GM's POS Iron Duke with the plastic gear (25,000 miles maybe of life) that was supposed to be quieter. I installed the steel aftermarket gear and could not hear the difference. How about the term "cheaper"? Anyway, with today's youth almost deaf from 2,000 megawatt entertainment systems that shake the vehicle's bolts loose, why worry about noise?

They could use a gear drive system and there would never be an issue. I doubt it would work on a modern DOHC engine, however. I'm told the timing chains used in Toyota/Lexus vehicles are much more robust than GMs.