i recently picked up an issue of rc car action magazine, in which they had a head to head shootout between the neo/sphere, and the novak ss/5800.
they said that the neo was =to a 9 turn, and the 5800 was =to an 8 turn, however the novak motor had a top speed of 35 mph and the sphere had reached 40 mph durring radar testing. they ran the motors in the same car,(2 wheel drive buggy) and geared both identically.
i dont know why that is so.
oh yeah, prices:
sphere=......189
neo=..........90
ss esc=......185
ss5800=.....85
(prices vary with dealer)
and if by "hot" you meant temperature, i hear they run cooler because of lack of friction.