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00:00I'm at Donington Park with the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
00:03The conditions are a little bit changeable, so it goes from sunny one minute to rainy the next.
00:07A bit intense on your eyes.
00:08Fortunately, I've got some Transitions DriveWear lenses in these glasses from glassesdirect.co.uk.
00:16What I'm going to do is tie myself on circuit in my normal glasses,
00:21then I'm going to switch to the Transitions DriveWear,
00:25tie myself again and see if these make me quicker.
00:28Let's do this.
00:30Before we head out on track, I'd like to introduce you to my racing instructor,
00:37Sam. So Sam, what are we going to do?
00:38We're going to time you. We're going to do a lap with your glasses on as normal.
00:41The normal glasses, all right.
00:43And then we're going to do a lap with your special tinted lenses on.
00:46Oh yeah, these. Gotta say, these look nicer, right? Right from the get-go.
00:50Very maverick, yeah. Very good.
00:53Anyway, we're going to start with these glasses first.
00:55And you've got a little device there. What does this do?
00:57This is a V-Box Sport. So we use these for collecting data on track.
01:02Yeah, so he's going to collect data.
01:03So I'll get a lap time, but I'll also get a little speed trace.
01:07So I'll be able to see not just how your lap time improves or doesn't improve,
01:10I'll also see where you're braking, how you're accelerating.
01:13And the key point here is vision. So I'll be able to see your throttle trace
01:16to see how you're opening up the corner and how much confidence you have to get on the power.
01:20So you reckon data is going to show whether these lenses help you drive quicker and safer?
01:25Yeah.
01:25Obviously quicker on track, on the road, safer is what we're focusing on, right?
01:29Yeah, vision.
01:30Vision. And do you think it's going to make a difference?
01:32I mean, yeah, vision is everything. If you can't see where you're going,
01:35it's terrifying, isn't it?
01:38Well, you've got to be sat next to me, so it's especially terrifying for you.
01:40Yeah, can I wear them?
01:42Anyway, shall we get and do it? Let's get our helmets on and we'll head out there.
01:46But before we do, so that you can actually see the difference,
01:49I've got a Transition Drivewear lens over this action camera.
01:54And then I've got another action camera without it.
01:56I'm going to stick them up there on the windscreen so you can see the difference
01:59and see pretty much what I'm seeing when I compare just the normal glasses
02:03to my Transitions Drivewear.
02:05All right, I'm going to do some laps just in my normal glasses, see how I get on.
02:09It's pretty damp out there with some water on the track,
02:13so we should get quite a lot of reflections. See how we go.
02:16Right, coming up here, sun to my face, a lot of light shining off the track.
02:21It's quite glaring.
02:22That just affects your concentration.
02:28And again, when I come around this corner into the sun.
02:33Yeah, and the water on the track, once again, it's causing me to squint.
02:36It makes it hard to find your braking point.
02:39Yeah, and these puddles.
02:40Yeah, I'm going to try and get a little bit more of a grip here.
02:43Makes it hard to find your braking point.
02:45Yeah, and these puddles here on the ground.
02:46You just notice those ever so slightly.
02:48A little bit more as the sun reflects off them.
02:51Right, that's enough.
02:52I'm going to pull in.
02:52I'm going to switch glasses and try the Transitions.
02:59OK, heading out on track already, I can see that I've got more contrast,
03:02which just helps give you a bit more confidence.
03:06Makes it easier to pick out your lines.
03:08You can also spot better where the damp parts are compared to dry,
03:13which is really important.
03:15Making sure I'm driving on the dry line.
03:17Taking the corners slightly wider.
03:21Following the dry part of the track.
03:23So coming up this hill, before it was really glary.
03:26Now there is a bit of glare, but it's nowhere near as bad.
03:28Didn't distract me anywhere near as much.
03:30Now we're coming to the worst part of the track now.
03:32Coming up this hill.
03:35Way better.
03:36And I can really see the dry line.
03:40That is helping so much.
03:42That is the biggest difference.
03:43It stops the glare, which is brilliant.
03:45But being able to spot the drier line is crucial to maximising grip
03:50and improving the lap time.
03:51Right, we've got the times in.
03:53Now let's see how I did.
03:54First of all then, Sam, what was my lap time
03:56when I was just driving in my normal glasses?
03:58When you had them on normally, that was a 25.5.
04:0225.5.
04:03That's all right considering the conditions, right?
04:05Yeah, it's a good lap.
04:05It was a solid lap.
04:06So, was I faster when I was wearing these glasses
04:11with the Transitions drivewear lenses in?
04:14I'm thinking I was a little bit.
04:16It was a 24.2.
04:19So that's what, 1.3 seconds?
04:21That's quite a lot.
04:22Yeah, I can see it.
04:22It's there on the data.
04:23So you've got this trace graph here, which shows you both laps
04:26and you can see where I was faster when I was wearing these glasses, yeah?
04:30First bit, the two uphill sections is where it was blind in the sun
04:34and this is where you've picked up the power a lot sooner
04:36and carried more speed into the corner.
04:38So that's the first one going up the hill.
04:40Exactly right, yeah.
04:41Okay.
04:41So you were actually 8k faster going up that hill.
04:45It's simply because you got on the power cleaner out of the corner.
04:47You could see the exit.
04:48You were more confident getting the power and there you are.
04:50So I'm not getting blinded by the sun so much.
04:53I can see the line.
04:54I can see the dry line and it gives me the confidence
04:56to just pin the throttle earlier.
04:57So that found you maybe three or four tenths
04:59but your biggest chunk of speed was coming up
05:02into the very blind right carpus corner.
05:04I knew it.
05:05Yeah.
05:05Honestly, that was just like looking into a mirror with these glasses on.
05:08It was like so much reflection but these made a massive difference.
05:12It just calmed it all down.
05:14More contrast.
05:14I could see the dry lines.
05:16Yeah, you braked so much later.
05:18I knew it was.
05:18On this, it measures about 15 meters later you braked.
05:22Whoa!
05:23And not only that, you got off the brake sooner.
05:26Yeah.
05:26Got on the power sooner and through the middle of the corner,
05:29so where we look for the minimum speed,
05:31you found just under 20k.
05:34And that's just because I could see.
05:35Just vision.
05:36That's all it is.
05:36Just a much better vision.
05:38Found it easier to see.
05:38Gave me more confidence.
05:40And as a result, I was quicker but also safer.
05:44Okay, so that track experiment was just a bit of fun.
05:46Where I really feel the benefit of these Transistons driveway lenses is on the road.
05:51So I've given the GT3 RS back
05:53and I've now jumped into my very own Porsche 911 996,
05:57which yes, I know is a bit of a come down,
05:59but I don't mind too much because I'm on some of my favorite driving roads.
06:03I've got the two cameras set up up here like on track,
06:05so you can see what the view out is like
06:08with and without the Transistons driveway tinted lens.
06:11Now, I'm going to let you into a little secret.
06:13It's a bit embarrassing, right?
06:14What I like to do sometimes is get up really early in the morning,
06:18go for a drive, you know, before anyone else is on the road.
06:21The problem with this time of year though
06:23is the fact that you've got that low-lying winter sun.
06:25We're driving along and I'll come around a corner
06:27and all of a sudden I'm just like blinded by the sun.
06:29I'm like grasping for the sun visor.
06:31I'm going like that.
06:32I don't know where I am on the road.
06:33It's all discombobulating.
06:35Just doesn't feel very safe at all.
06:37The way these Transistons driveway lenses deal with changing light
06:40just really helps with that.
06:42It's amazing.
06:43Also, when I'm driving along and I'm like going through trees
06:45and the light is changing all over the place,
06:47it's just so much better.
06:48It really helps me with that as well.
06:50Another thing that I found with these
06:51is that sometimes I'll be like doing a long distance journey
06:53and let's say I'm just heading east in the morning or west at night.
06:55I'm constantly squinting if I'm just in my normal glasses of contact lenses.
06:59With these, I don't seem to squint so much
07:01and that just makes it feel a bit more comfortable to drive.
07:04Now, if you want to find out more about these lenses,
07:06follow the link in the description or the pin comment
07:08to go to glassesdirect.co.uk.
07:11So then, I like these Transistons driveway lenses
07:14and I like driving.
07:15But what I also like is finding out how things actually work.
07:19I've come to Glasses Direct headquarters
07:20to find out a little bit more about Transistons driveway.
07:23I'm here with David Hutchfield.
07:25Hello, David.
07:26Hi, Matt. Good to see you here.
07:27Good to see you.
07:27So you're the senior optician here, right?
07:29I am, yes.
07:29And we're here where all the lenses are kept.
07:31You've got the lab downstairs.
07:32Yeah, this is where the magic happens.
07:33It's where these are made.
07:34Yes.
07:35So tell me, what makes these lenses so special?
07:38Transistons driveway is a unique driver-focused lens.
07:42It's made particularly with a driver in mind.
07:45So you think of them as a sunglass pair
07:47that then reacts with the sunlight to go darker
07:50and it also has a polarised filter on it so it reduces horizontal glare.
07:55Unlike a normal photochromic lens,
07:57these are specifically designed to improve contrast
08:01and reduce glare that you would experience while driving.
08:04And they work as well behind a windscreen, don't they?
08:06They do.
08:06Which is kind of important, really.
08:08As you can see here, this is their unreacted state.
08:10So they're kind of an olive green,
08:12which is ideal for fairly low-level light situations.
08:16But then when they get reacted, they go a coppery brown colour,
08:19which is specifically designed to filter out glare
08:23and improve contrast when the sun's bright.
08:25Like when you're driving directly into sunlight.
08:26Absolutely.
08:27Your contrast will be much improved with those
08:29compared with an ordinary pair of photochromic lenses.
08:31Yeah, I really noticed that, actually,
08:33when I was filming on track going from a garage to outdoors
08:36and all of a sudden, like, bright light really helped with that.
08:39And this morning, driving here directly into the sunlight,
08:41really noticed them helping me out with that as well.
08:43Oh, wow.
08:44Yeah.
08:44There you go.
08:45That is so noticeable.
08:46Yeah, mark difference.
08:48Look at that.
08:49Now, one of the other key things I noticed about these
08:50is the benefits of that polarisation just stops reflections, doesn't it?
08:54Any standing water that you experience on the road,
08:56conditions like snow or fog,
09:00then it will cut down that glare completely
09:02and enable you to see things clearer
09:04or things that you wouldn't have seen without the polarised filter.
09:07And I can illustrate that with this box here.
09:09So you've got a picture,
09:11which is underneath a piece of see-through plastic
09:14and you can see when it's dark.
09:15But if I turn the lights on,
09:17all I see is reflections of the lights,
09:19unless I get this lens, which I used to film with earlier.
09:22Look, I can completely get rid of the reflections.
09:24Yeah, that's a polarisation filter.
09:26It's so good.
09:26It's great.
09:27I mean, I couldn't or wouldn't want to drive without a polarised lens.
09:31As someone who likes a light interior on a car,
09:33I've really been appreciating the ability of these Transitions drivewear lenses
09:37to combine that light adaptive effect with polarisation.
09:41Because one of the problems with the light interior
09:42is that you get loads of reflections in the dash.
09:44Look, I'll show you here with this camera.
09:46Look, can you see all those reflections?
09:47Can you see them?
09:48Actually, I can't see them because I've got these glasses on.
09:50There you go.
09:50Look, terrible, terrible reflections.
09:53Now, I'd like you to see what I've seen through my glasses just,
09:56but I've got my prescription in,
09:58so it's going to be all distorted for you.
10:00What I do have here, though,
10:01are a set of glasses with Transitions drivewear lenses without prescription.
10:06So you can see how they deal with the reflection.
10:08Look at this.
10:09Put them over there.
10:10The reflection is gone.
10:12Look, you can see it appear again.
10:14It's gone.
10:15Look at that.
10:16Terrible reflections, and now they're gone.
10:20Amazing.
10:21When Glasses Direct first approached me to do this video,
10:23I was like, I can't do it.
10:24I've never tried Transitions lenses.
10:26They said, don't worry, Matt.
10:27We'll send some out, see how you get on with them.
10:28And oh my gosh, what a revelation they are.
10:32I can't believe I haven't had any Transitions drivewear lenses before.
10:37They are so good.
10:38And I'll always have them with me.
10:40I'll be wearing them so long as it's not night time and dark
10:43or I'm presented to camera.
10:44Because I think, really, if I'm presented to camera, I don't want a shaded lens.
10:47I want you to be able to see my eyes.
10:48It just helps with engagement.
10:50And I need all the help with that I can get, I can tell you.
10:52But yeah, other than that, I'll be wearing these Transitions drivewear lenses.
10:56Now, if you want to find out more about them, follow the link in the description
10:59or the pinned comment to go to glassesdirect.co.uk.
11:03Take my word for it, they're a game changer.