I have done enough lithium conversions now that people are a year or more in, and they tell me how it went. Here is the honest summary, including the part that is not perfect.
What people mention first
Almost nobody leads with range. They lead with not thinking about it.
No watering. No checking cells. No cleaning corrosion off terminals. No wondering whether it will make it back. The pack stopped being a thing they had to manage, and that turns out to be the change people actually notice day to day.
Second most common is the weight. Dropping somewhere between 250 and 350 pounds off a cart changes how it drives more than people expect. It accelerates better, stops better, and it is easier on soft ground, which matters if you are running across a lawn or a pasture.
The range thing is real but explained wrong
People say "double the range". It is not quite that, but the reason behind it is worth understanding.
It is not that lithium stores more. It is that you can safely use 80 to 90 percent of a lithium pack, while you can only use about half a lead acid pack before you start damaging it. Same number on the label, roughly 70 percent more usable energy out of it.
The practical version: the cart also does not get progressively slower as it drains. Lead acid sags as it empties, so the last run of the day is noticeably weaker than the first. Lithium holds voltage until it is nearly done, so it feels the same all day and then it is empty.
That second part catches people out once, and then they learn to watch the gauge.
The complaint
Here it is, and it is a genuine one.
Lithium will not charge below freezing. The battery management system blocks it, deliberately, because charging a cold lithium cell causes permanent damage. So if your cart lives in an unheated garage and you try to plug it in on a January evening, nothing happens.
That is the BMS protecting a pack that costs real money, not a fault. But if you use your cart year round and store it somewhere cold, you need to know before you buy, not after.
Lead acid will take a charge in the cold. It just does everything else worse.
Who I still tell not to do it
Unchanged from a year ago. If the cart is old and rough, if it gets used a handful of times a summer, or if you are selling within a year, put lead acid back in it. The maths does not work.
Where it does work is daily or near daily use, hills, hauling, and any cart you plan to keep.
What I fit
I am an authorised dealer for both Bolt Energy USA and BATTLite, and I do full conversions: pack, charger, wiring, and confirming the controller and motor are happy with what you have asked them to do.
Want the numbers for your cart? The battery calculator on the site will show you the range difference before you talk to anybody. Then call me. 406.270.9346.