Whether he’s on the clock managing ZUCE and Recurve, on location filming his latest outback adventure with Roothy for DustemUp or simply kicking back around the campfire with the family, Glen Hadden isn’t a man that does things by halves. That’s why, when his new 300 Series Landcruiser arrived, he went straight for a tyre that delivered uncompromising performance.
The 300 Series is five times the car the 200 Series was - I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the 200! The seating position, the ride comfort, the new suspension; it’s such a highly-evolved car!
In saying that though, my cars never stay stock for long - as good as it is, a standard car just won’t cut it for us. Whether it’s testing a caravan or towing a car trailer around for my sons’ racecars, all of our vehicles get wheels, tyres and suspension straight off the bat, and with 1,500km on the car, wheels and tyres were the first thing I changed on the 300 Series.
I’ve been in the industry for over thirty years, and have been in positions where other tyre brands have sponsored projects so I’m very well aware of what else is out there in the market, but any time I get the chance to choose my own tyres, I always choose Toyo tyres. It’s a brand I’m very familiar with - I’ve run the previous generation Open Country A/T II on several vehicles including my Dodge Ram, and my 200 Series wears the Open Country M/T.
I never want to stuff around by putting the wrong gear on my vehicles.
The Open Country A/T III are perfect, as the 300 Series is set up as a really comfortable tourer. It’s nothing over the top - a 50mm suspension lift, the Method Race Wheels, 285/70R17 LT tyres, a winch and a dual battery.
The fact is, 90% of my driving will be on the black top, and half the time it’ll be towing which is what steered me towards an All Terrain tyre. I don’t like loud exhausts on my cars anymore, and I certainly don’t need to ruin the inside of the 300 Series with excessive tyre noise. I’m always on the phone and working while I’m driving, so I really value how quiet and comfortable the Open Country A/T III is.
Whenever I test a new set of tyres, I’ve found one of the most telling factors of quality is their propensity to oversteer or understeer. These Open Country A/T III do neither, even in the wet, and we’ve done plenty of wet weather kilometers to test them out. I love how direct they are; as a driver that gives me real confidence. Mark my words, they’re a nicer tyre to drive on than the OE tyres!
We haven’t done much serious off-roading with them yet. Sure, we’ve taken it down corrugated tracks and taken a ‘van out on to the beach, but nothing too gnarly - we may never, it just doesn’t seem like that kind of car to me. That said, I reckon we’ve done more off-roading than most 300 Series you’ll see on the road!
My youngest son is just about to finish school, and when he does we’re going to head away for a few weeks with my other son - the plan is a beach to bush trip with a few vehicles and do some filming for the Trak Yakka app’. We’ll really push the tyres over a variety of terrains then!
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