Battery renewal

I have a 2001 Ford Puma 1.6 with an original Motorcraft battery, which seems to discharge itself over time. Would a 063-Lion battery from a motor factor be OK? Or can you recommend any websites that offer good, cheap batteries? Steve Cloke The Ford listing for your Puma is a 60Ah silver calcium battery, which should cost you about £75; the 063-Lion battery would be around £40.

Ford have been fitting silver calcium batteries and smart charge systems to their vehicles since 1997. Fitting a non-silver calcium battery will result in a shortened service life and, according to Ford, could even cause an explosion. The smart charge system reaches a higher voltage and charge rate than a conventional system, so the battery needs to be able to withstand the increased parameters.