Which type is better?? Air- air or liquid - air??
I realize that this is rather subjective, but what are personal opinions on this??
I see most every turbo car has air-air, I would assume this is probably because it is cheaper and less complicated. Is a liquid- air setup better suited for serious full out racing??

 

If im correct, only happens a few times, liquid to air intercoolers are really only used in 1/4 mile cars or something use in full out racing like you said. Generally its packed with ice to get ambient air. Air to Air Intercoolers are more for everyday street use. They are very affective actually, well at least front mounts are. When looking at an Intercooler the most important thing, in my opinion, is where the Intercooler is mounted. You can gain MUCH horsepower from just upgrading/moving the unit. Hopefully that helps a little bit, Im sorry I ramble a lot :P

 

http://www.autospeed.com/A_0084/page1.html

 

I love this picture.. not sure why.. maybe cause its a rotary?

As mentioned above... air-water is good for drag racing(maybe any short racing...?), cause you can put ice in the resevoir and have below ambient temps. I don't see this working well for street use.. air-air makes much more sense for most cases, IMHO.

 

air-air is much simpler/cheaper as far as piping is concerned, air-liquid requires extra plumbing. but heat exchange is much better with the liquid....as water soaks up heat much faster and more efficient than air.....just think of a hot frying pan...if u soak it in water, it cools down almost instanteously, while if u fan it thru the air, it'll take forever to cool. u just got to find a happy solution for YOURSELF, cost or performance, they do the same thing