First of all, yes, there is a different technique for driving on the street with racing brake pads. General braking technique doesn’t change, for the most part. But, there are a few things that you should do, and a few things you should not to, to help keep your racing brake pads happy.

Why Does it Matter? - Different Operating Temperatures for Racing Brake Pads
The whole reason why there is an issue with driving on the street with racing brake pads is because race pads are designed to operate in a much hotter temperature range than normal street tires. In regular street driving (e.g., when your mother drives to the store), braking is mild and spaced far apart. That means that there is very little heat generated each time she stops, and enough time in between stops that the brakes can cool down sufficiently. Thus, street pads are designed to operate in a much cooler temperature range, since the pads are never heated up on the street.

Now think of what your braking looks like on the track: 1) full acceleration until the last possible second, 2) full braking, 3) full acceleration until the last possible second, 4) full braking. Repeat for 20 minutes. Needless to say, braking so hard so often generates a LOT of heat - so much, in fact, that if you use street pads, you will overheat them and then you’ll have no brakes. That would be bad. So, instead you want to use a compound designed to work in a much hotter temperature range, something like Hawk Blues or Carbotech XP8 or AX6 pads.

What Are the Risks of Driving with Race Pads on the Street and how do I deal with them?
The main concerns are 1) cold grip, 2) wet grip when cold, 3) uneven pad deposits, 4) brake dust, 5) excessive wear. Each pad model is different, but these are the main things to worry about.

Cold Grip
Many racing pads, particularly older generations of compounds, have little (or even no) grip when the pads are cold. And by no grip I mean that you leave your street, head to a stop sign, hit the brakes, and realize that you have NO braking capability. Henry almost had an unfortunate innocent between his motorcycle and a gate leaving his old apartment on the way to the track precisely because of this phenomenon. Fortunately for him, he was able to stop in time.

So, how do you deal with this problem? In most cases, simply press on the brake pedal harder, and the problem should diminish a bit as the pads warm up slightly to street operating temperatures. But with heavier cars or cars with manual brakes, the problem can be severe enough that the push-more technique doesn’t always work. At this point, you should probably switch to a different brake pad. Alternatively, you could drag the brakes for a little bit to get some heat into the pads, and hopefully this will alleviate some of the problem.

Wet Grip
Some pads will exhibit less grip when they are cold and it is wet. I noticed this phenomenon with my Hawk Blues. The problem is a combination of water getting in between the rotor and pad, and the water cooling the pad down below its optimum working temperature.

This can be dealt with much like the cold pad phenomenon above. With my Hawk Blues, I would simply press a little harder when initiating braking in the rain. Once the water was scrubbed off, the problem disappeared.

Uneven Pad Deposits
This is a big deal, and definitely a close second behind having enough braking power to stop. Brakes work by depositing a layer of pad material on the rotor. If this layer of pad material gets deposited unevenly, you will get the dreaded brake vibration (commonly misdiagnosed as “warped rotors”).

To avoid this, I do a couple of things. First, I NEVER USE THE EBRAKE FOR PARKING when I have race pads on my car. I simply put it in 1st or Reverse (whichever is appropriate for the incline of the parking spot), and turn the front wheels so the car will roll into the curb, where appropriate. The idea is that if you clamp the rear brakes in place, it can leave excess material in that spot. Granted, this is mostly a concern when the brakes are hot (hot like you just got off of the track), but I make a policy of never parking with the ebrake just to be safe.

Next, blast on the brakes occasionally while driving. Ideally, you could do 2-3 80mph to 20mph stops. Realistically, you will not do that. What I do is drag the brakes under full load at ~65mph for ~2 seconds. I do that maybe 2-3 times in a row. I find that this heats up the pads quickly without having to do a full deceleration on the highway. Just remember NOT TO DRAG THE BRAKES FOR TOO LONG. You want to get the pads warm, but you DON’T want to overheat them. Even race pads will overheat if dragged for too long.

The last thing I do is whenever I come to a stop sign or stop light, I avoid stepping on the brakes to hold the car in place. The logic is the same as for not parking with the ebrake - I don’t want to clamp down on the rotors while the pads are hot. This is more of a concern when the pads are hot, but again, I do this everytime to be sure to avoid any problems. To hold the car in place, there are a few things you can do. Ideally, the ground will be flat and the car can just sit there. If it is on an incline, you can look for imperfections in the pavement to stick the front or rear wheels in. Depending on the road features, these can sometimes do the trick of holding the car in place. If that fails, I usually either hold the car in place just with the ebrake (as that only clamps the rears), or roll back and forth slightly using the ebrake to come to a stop. This keeps the pads from clamping down in the same spot for too long. It is probably unnecessary, but at least it gives me something to do at stoplights.

Brake Dust
I don’t really care about brake dust, as it is to wheels as mud is to boots. However, certain types of pads have particularly caustic brake dust that should be dealt with. Hawk Blues produce a dust that will literally eat into the paint on your wheels and car body if allowed to sit. It will also rust as soon as it gets wet. And any brake dust, if it hardens too much on a wheel in sufficient quantity, can change the balance of the wheel.

Deal with race brake dust as you would regular brake dust - wash and scrub it off. I only mention it here because your paint can be eaten away, and its good to know that before it happens.

Excessive Wear
Some pads can literally eat through rotors when they are cold, or they themselves may wear faster. Some shops actually rent Hawk Blues to their customers to resurface a rotor because the Blues are so hard on rotors that they basically work like sandpaper. Other pads, like Carbotechs, are very rotor friendly, even when cold. There really isn’t anything you can do about this, but its good to know that it will occur.

I have to do this with EVERY brake pad!?
Yes and no. Different pads compromise street driveability more than others. Hawk Blues tend to compromise things more, Carbotechs less. Much of what I do and describe above is probably excessive and an occasional blast on the brakes should suffice for most applications. But, I follow the regime above to ensure I keep my brakes happy.