Without a qualified used oil analysis program in place, a conservative limit is used to ensure the oil is changed prior to becoming critical; hence the one-year limit on AMSOIL Signature Series Motor Oil. Keeping your vehicle working optimally through good preventative maintenance also helps to keep contamination to a minimum, but it does not eliminate it altogether.

Once an engine is warmed up, the water evaporates and is removed from the engine by the crankcase ventilation system. If not, the water will degrade the oil and potentially promote corrosion within the engine.

It doesn’t take much glycol to degrade motor oil, reduce lubricity and react to thicken the oil to the point where the oil pump cannot supply enough oil to the engine for proper lubrication. Once that happens, the engine comes to a screeching stop.

Gasoline trapped in the oil sump thins the oil and promotes chemical reactions that degrade the oil. This reaction is more pronounced in diesel applications because diesel is less volatile and does not readily evaporate, reducing engine oil viscosity as fuel builds up in the oil sump.

Combustion by-products pass by the rings, seep into the oil sump and reduce motor oil life. Higher concentrations of by-products in the oil affect the rate at which chemical reactions occur, but the amount of time combustion by-products are in contact with motor oil also has an effect. The acids and free-radicals created when burning gasoline or diesel fuel accelerate chemical reactions that degrade motor oil. When you install brand new oil and start the vehicle, these reactions begin and continue, to an extent, even when the vehicle is not operating. These chemical reactions result in increased viscosity, oxidation and nitration levels in the motor oil. So start with an oil that will last longer to chemical reactions. go with AMSOIL Signature Series with a 1 year/ 25,000 miles in normal service.

For example, successive corn crops without crop rotation leads to nitrogen depletion, and the farmer must add increased levels of nitrogen in order to produce a viable crop. Insect and other pests that attack corn are able to multiply and thrive on the susceptible corn crop, so the farmer must increase the use of pesticides. However the pests develop resistance to the pesticides faster than the farmer can raise the treat rates or try new combinations of pesticides.

As the soil ecosystem degrades, it opens niches for pathogenic fungi, nematodes and other non-beneficial invaders to populate the soil, nematicides and insecticides to control damage and diseases caused by the offending invaders. One can begin to see how the use of toxic chemicals creates a never-ending upward spiral in the use of chemical inputs and an equal, but opposite, downward spiral in the level of beneficial soil biological activity, which can result in reduced profit margins.

Beneficial nematodes consume other nematodes, reducing or eliminating root damage and supplying available nutrients. This incredible army in the soil supplies most of the nutrients necessary for prolific crop growth as long as the proper substrates and environment are provided. However, the addition of toxins to the system inhibits their activity.

Fungi are the primary invaders, breaking down residue left in the highly-aerobic surface layer to a point where bacteria and actinomycetes can continue the process in the top 2-6″ of soil. The final result is humus, which provides highly-available nutrients to plants. Microbes produce their weight in humus everyday.

The addition of toxic substances to the system.

The continuous mono-cropping in the absence of a viable crop rotation plan.

The lack of attention to soil chemical imbalance (i.e.base saturation percentage out of balance).

Soil compaction from the overuse of heavy machinery on the fields.

Practices that reduce the presence of organic matter in the top 6″ of soil.

Each of these factors must be addressed in some fashion, but it usually takes at least THREE YEARS to see meaningful results; it takes time to detoxify the soil and open the soil pores so the soil microbes can multiply and begin releasing nutrients as crop need them.