Originally Posted by SAM@GTM

From that link...

Air vs Water

For automotive street applications, air-to-air technology is easy to install, highly effective, extremely reliable since it has no moving parts, and requires no maintenance. Air-to-water intercooler systems, on the other hand, are much more difficult to install as they contain an intercooler, a separate radiator to cool the water, a water tank, and a pump. But probably the biggest drawback to air-to-water on the street is that this technology requires the addition of ice to match the efficiency of air-to-air technology. Additionally, the requirement of ice and the possibility of pump failure or leakage means that air-to-water is also inherently less reliable.

For race-only applications, air-to-water works well since the need to add ice at the track prior to each run is not a big drawback. The other issues are the same as listed above for street applications, and efficiency will be comparable with the use of ice.