i cant say much about the novak 4.5. but i run a lrp sphere comp/neo-one 4* combo and love it. then again this is in a tc and not a pan. but the tuning on it is amzing. and the motor is extreemly strong. it will run about 40+ and will still burn the tires off on hard starts. there is tuning for every track type and every type of car and race.