Golston 7 watt with WWOT 5 watt LED

I just put in a 5 watt WWOT in a Golston 7 watt light, running Powerizer 3.6 volt RCR123A's. It's much brighter than either the original LED or the SX1J I had put in. I compared it to my Chameleon with Bulk Head on ct4, Maglite with Diamond 3 watt LED, and my Led Logic Stiker-VG.

Shining it on a wall about 15 feet away it seemed to throw about as well as the Stiker-VG, but less than both the Chameleon and the Mag. Overall output easily went to the Golston though putting out a bit more flood than the original LED did.

Here are a couple pictures of the lights against a wall about 2 feet away, from left to right. Chameleon with Bulk Head, Maglite/Diamond 3 watt, Led Logic Stiker-VG, Golston with WWOT, and one showing the same thing, but 2 stops under exposed.

Is this direct drive? Does it get as hot as the original LED? What current does it draw?
Sounds like a good mod, I don't like the losses with the original resistor.
Any one know what the VF of the original LED is? If it is around 3.5 Volts wouldn't it be better to run direct drive with one larger 3.6 Volt cell?
Sorry for all the questions I'm still learning.

Norm