NVH = noise, vibration, and harshness.
While you may not mind, other folks do and that's why the companies spend millions of dollars on NVH work. Belts are quiet; chains are not.
Another major factor is that automobile designs are driven by cost concerns. The engineers who design them are frequently overruled by bean counters, manufacturing, etc. Absolute engine life, at the expense of all other factors, is never a design criterion for an auto manufacturer.
But the bottom line is that for the average car owner, a belt is not a hardship. The average replacement interval is 60,000 miles for one of these belts. At 12-15,000 miles a year, that is a 4-5 year replacement interval. On the ex-wife's Talon, the belt had to be changed at 60k. So did the water pump. Yeah, you could skip it, but both items would be failing by 75k or so. It's just a cost of playing the game. Machinery requires maintenance. There are no exceptions to that rule.
While you may not mind, other folks do and that's why the companies spend millions of dollars on NVH work. Belts are quiet; chains are not.
Another major factor is that automobile designs are driven by cost concerns. The engineers who design them are frequently overruled by bean counters, manufacturing, etc. Absolute engine life, at the expense of all other factors, is never a design criterion for an auto manufacturer.
But the bottom line is that for the average car owner, a belt is not a hardship. The average replacement interval is 60,000 miles for one of these belts. At 12-15,000 miles a year, that is a 4-5 year replacement interval. On the ex-wife's Talon, the belt had to be changed at 60k. So did the water pump. Yeah, you could skip it, but both items would be failing by 75k or so. It's just a cost of playing the game. Machinery requires maintenance. There are no exceptions to that rule.
