The Jeep brand is truly the king of modifiers. If you purchase the Jeep Wrangler, you can do basically anything you want to it. It’s a true modifier vehicle and perfect for anyone who loves to tinker or tweak. But what if you didn’t gravitate toward the Wrangler design. Perhaps you like something that has a bit more form factor already in place, such as the 2020 Jeep Compass. Can you still add mods to a Compass? Sure, you can! In fact, you can alter the way the Compass looks and performs in all kinds of ways. Some of these mods you can even do yourself. And, if you don’t feel comfortable doing the mods, well, you can still have a professional do them without breaking the bank.
Paint The Caliper
You know when you walk past a sports car or other performance vehicle, and there is that bright red that shines through from behind the wheels? That is the caliper. The caliper is a metal attachment that holds the pistons. The pistons will apply pressure to the brake pads, which then stops your Jeep Compass. Well, these sports cars that have fancy colors shining through the wheels, there is nothing special about that bright color. It’s just a little bit of paint. Seriously, that’s it (so, if you’re ever somewhere buying a car and they try to charge you more for the look, the most you should pay is $10 for the paint applied).
To do this yourself, you’ll want to remove the wheel. You can remove the caliper from the rotor as well, but it is possible to paint this without touching the brake pads and rotor if you paint it while it’s still attached. If you change your own brakes, this is the perfect time to paint your calipers. You can take it in to have this done, but it is a simple job, so don’t spend more than a few bucks on having someone do it. This kind of feature doesn’t add any real performance enhancements to how your vehicle runs, but it sure looks good, and it’s one of those minor tweaks that instantly upgrades the look of your vehicle.
Roof Rack
If you didn’t spring for a trim that included a roof rack, don’t worry, it’s not an expensive add-on modification to your vehicle. In fact, you can get a factory quality roof rack for under $100. If you’re willing to put in some time and elbow grease to your Jeep, you can upgrade it for a fraction of what you would have paid for a top-tier trim that included it. Additionally, when you work on your vehicle with these slight modifications, you’ll learn more about how it runs. You might not understand everything under the hood the first time you pop it open, but as you tweak and mod one thing at a time, you’ll slowly learn about your vehicle, and this will help you better maintain it.
With the roof racks, you can install the equipment without any problem at all. Plus, when you purchase most roof racks (which come in a pair), you’ll receive instructions on how to install the equipment. Or, of course, you can check out YouTube. It’s an excellent destination for learning how to install the equipment if you’re more of a visual learner.
New Lighting
One of the best ways to change the look of your Jeep Compass without dropping some serious cash is to upgrade the lighting. When you buy the Jeep Compass from the dealership, you’re somewhat limited with the kind of light options, but you can modify this yourself. There are some pretty sweet modification options out there, ranging anywhere from under $100 to several hundred bucks. These light upgrades not only look cool but can improve your visibility while you drive.
Do keep in mind though that if your vehicle uses the older, more traditional bulbs instead of LEDs, you will either need to stick with the traditional bulb designs or spring for an adapter. Why? You might ask. Well, traditional bulbs produce heat. The heat produced is what causes your blinker to flash on and off. The system knows when it heats up, which then causes it to click off, and when it clicks off, the temperature drops, which causes the bulb to click back on. If you replaced it with an LED, it wouldn’t blink. It would just stay on. That’s kind of a problem (it’s also illegal not to have pulsing turn signals). The adapter will help convert this so you can use non-heat producing lights, although it is an extra step in the process.
Installing new light compartments isn’t as difficult as you might think. With the car off, you need to unscrew the top mounts around the lights. You’ll also likely need to remove a pulley through the wheel well (when you look up through the wheel well, there will be a plastic flap that can be removed. When you pull it down and look through toward the bulb housing, you’ll see a white piece of plastic that you pull down. This unlocks the light bulb and allows it to slide out of the housing. This is something you will want to follow instructions for. Don’t worry, it’s pretty impossible to cause damage to your vehicle (as long as you don’t start pulling wires out and cutting them), but if you don’t feel confident in yourself, you can always purchase the new light setup and take it into a shop. Either way, it is a nice way to change up the look of your Jeep Compass.
Solid Floor Mats
There’s nothing like some solid all-weather floor mats. The fabric mats in your vehicle are nice and all, but the fabric doesn’t do much if you’re jumping into your Compass with muddy boots or you toss a wet umbrella down there. Once water seeps through the material, you’re in trouble. First, it will begin to smell musty and moldy. Over time, it can develop rust, and once you have rust in the flooring of your Jeep, you’ve got some serious problems. Instead, you need to invest in some solid floor liners.
Floor liners for the Jeep Compass don’t cost a ton. And you’ll want to purchase liners that are made specifically for the Compass. These are form fitting to the amount of space you have, which will then block out moisture and dirt from sliding past and getting into your vehicle. These are especially great if you have a kid who struggles to hold their cup and is always spilling juice into the carpeting. Instead of spot cleaning the carpet, the floor liner will protect your vehicle and help you keep your sanity.
What Kind Of Mods Would You Perform?
The Jeep Wrangler might be the true modifying king, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with your Jeep Compass. There are a number of upgrades you should consider, many of which you can install and perform all on your own. From jazzing up the calipers to installing new headlights, you should have fun with your vehicle and make it your own.
