GNFO

That link doesn't show the full technical specs of the battery, so I can't tell. In particular, I would want to know the dimensions to see how much you would have to modify the trays (and vertical space), and for output what is the max continuous output (amps, not amp-hours like you wrote). Together, the Discover dry cells supposedly only put out 100a continuous but they do have a combined capacity ah rating of 170-200ah. I went with the ReLion Insight 48V batteries because they individually have 100a max continuous output rating, and with four of them in parallel I get to the 400a max of the motor. In theory I could have replaced all 8 of the dry cells with a single battery in the same form factor of the Discover batteries, but that would have only given me 30ah of capacity. Using four gets me up to 120ah and 400a continuous output. To answer your direct question, yes a single lithium battery could replace the 8 dry cell batteries, but you also have to look at continuous output (amps) and storage (amp-hours).

John M - I know you just addressed Didgeridoo, but FYI I haven't had any error codes since I swapped out my batteries for the lithium replacements.

There's this thread, which I contributed to a few months ago: I replaced my Discovery batteries with four ReLion Insight 48V batteries, which have the same form factor as the old batteries. I went with them because of that, but mostly because each battery has a max continuous output of 100A, so the four of them combined can match the full 400A capability of the motor. Also their tech support was great and sent me the new charging profile and instructions so I could flash the existing onboard charger to change it over to their custom lithium battery charging profile. The fact that you can still see 400A with your original batteries is interesting, since I was never able to see that and was at the point of the UTV slowing down and throwing error codes when hauling uphill. The upgrade isn't cheap, so you may want to make sure you're at the point where you just can't squeeze out anything more from your old batteries. That said, the performance improvement is great. Four batteries is plenty of capacity for my use, but if you require maximum range (and don't mind the cost) you can actually parallel 8 of them and still save almost half the weight compared to the Discovery batteries.

Been a while planning this. I bought a used "Axis" E1, the version of the Hisun E1 that used to be sold through Lowe's. I like it a lot and use it for hauling firewood and a log splitter around my property, but it always threw the low voltage alert under load going up hills and would slow down to a crawl or even stop if it had been used just a little. While the Discover lead-acid batteries were probably failing anyway, I have to wonder if the OEM batteries were the wrong choice from the beginning since I don't think they are capable of much more than 100A continuous output, well below the 400A motor. After extensive searching online for a 48V setup that would be both easy and capable of a 400A continuous output, I found the ReLion Insight 48V LiFePO batteries. They actually have the same standardized GC2 exterior dimensions as the Discover batteries, so no adapting was necessary for the trays. I went with their 4 battery bundle which included a digital "fuel" gauge, two dummy spacers (which I didn't need) and an offboard charger (also didn't need, but a good backup). Their technical support was very helpful and actually sent me the zip file to update the existing Delta-Q onboard charger profile for their batteries (profile P269). I pulled out the old batteries and connected the new batteries in parallel in the four battery positions near the centerline using new cables of the same uniform length. I did re-use the cables for the final connection to the motor controller. With these new batteries, they also come with CAN cables to connect all the batteries together. That way the onboard BMS built in to each unit talks to each other, and the "fuel" gauge also connects via CAN so it gets the total picture and doesn't have the same problem mentioned above by Didgeridoo. When it's turned on, the gauge detects how many batteries are connected and reads out a digital percentage and total remaining amp hours. Pretty neat system. I kept the blinking green light from the onboard charger since it still works and lets me know if the Delta-Q charger is properly providing current, but I got rid of the decal below it and installed the round digital gauge in it's place. Turned on the batteries (they have their own on/off button if you want to isolate them), turned the key, and it all worked perfectly. Loads of torque, no low voltage battery warning, and full advertised speed available. Plus, the four new batteries weigh 138lb total vs 520lb for the old Discover batteries. As mentioned before, the existing instrument cluster battery level isn't accurate, but I don't care since I now have a digital percentage to look at. The amp output gauge does work though, since I believe that is reading from the motor controller. Before the conversion, I couldn't get over 100A output, after the conversion I've seen it up to 300A and I haven't really pushed it yet. The new batteries are 48V, 30ah, so I have a total capacity of 120ah right now. Can't tell you the range under the manufacturer's flat, paved, medium speed, 2wd conditions, but I did do some distance with two people (~400lbs total) in 4wd low over bumpy and very hilly terrain. I estimate I would have had a maximum range of about 12 miles under those tough conditions. That seems more than enough for my purposes, but if I wanted to invest in it, I could add another four batteries for a total of 240ah. The batteries and cables were still cool to the touch after that trip, by the way. As expected, they're expensive (4 battery bundle is ~$5300 USD), but the setup is so much more capable now and the UTV plus batteries are still much less than the Polaris lithium version UTV - even if I did add another four batteries. I could include pictures, but since the batteries have the same outer form, there's actually not much to see other than four empty spots. The top hold down brackets of the inner four batteries ("H" shape) don't quite work with the buttons/lift brackets of the new batteries, but since I only had four to deal with, I just used the straight hold down brackets from the outer batteries and it works just fine and doesn't move.