Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. Customer Question: I Wear A 54 In Sparco, What Size Am I In OMP?
Customer question
The question, more or less word for word, and we get it most weeks: "I have always worn a 54 in a Sparco suit. My new one is going to be an OMP. Do I order the same number or size up?"
Most of the time it is the same number, and there is a clean rule for the times it is not. Boots move between the two brands with no thought at all. Gloves are the ones to watch, and they catch people out because they move in the opposite direction to the suits. All the numbers below come off the charts on our own size guides.
- Suits: same numbered ladder, OMP bands sit about 1cm higher
- A chest on the first number of a Sparco band drops one size at OMP
- Boots: identical UK and EU ladder, foot lengths within 3mm
- Gloves: the same above medium, but OMP letters run smaller
- Measure over the fireproof underwear you actually drive in
The short answer
Suits: usually the same number
A 54 in Sparco is usually a 54 in OMP. The exception is if your chest sits right on the bottom number of your Sparco band, in which case you are a size lower at OMP.
Boots: the same, full stop
Both brands run one ladder and publish foot lengths that never disagree by more than three millimetres. Your EU number carries straight across.
Gloves: go up a letter
Above medium, OMP letters cover a smaller hand than Sparco. A hand at the top of a Sparco M or L often needs the next letter up at OMP.
Suits: the same ladder, shifted by a centimetre
Both brands size suits on the even numbered continental ladder, and both work off your chest measurement. Put the two charts side by side and the bands do not quite line up. Sparco bands begin at 94, 98, 102, 106 and 110cm. OMP bands begin at 95, 99, 103, 107 and 111cm. That one centimetre is the whole story.
Taking the question at the top literally: a Sparco 54 is cut for a 106 to 109cm chest. If you are at the bottom of that, around 106, you are an OMP 52. Anywhere from 107 up and you stay on 54. So the honest answer to the question in the title is another question, which is what your chest actually measures today.
Both brands use the same even numbered ladder, but OMP set each band about a centimetre higher. Land on the first number of a Sparco band and you drop a size at OMP.
| Your chest | Sparco size | OMP size | What to order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96 cm | 48 | 48 | Same number |
| 98 cm | 50 | 48 | One size lower at OMP |
| 100 cm | 50 | 50 | Same number |
| 104 cm | 52 | 52 | Same number |
| 106 cm | 54 | 52 | One size lower at OMP |
| 108 cm | 54 | 54 | Same number |
| 110 cm | 56 | 54 | One size lower at OMP |
| 112 cm | 56 | 56 | Same number |
Read off your own chest measurement, not your old suit label. Chest bands from our racing suit size guide, checked 2 August 2026.
One thing will undo all of the above, and it is the commonest reason a suit that should have fitted does not. FIA underwear is a full extra layer, top and bottom. If you measure your chest in a t-shirt and then pull the suit on over a Nomex top and long johns, you have quietly added a layer the chart never knew about.
Measure in the base layers you actually drive in. OMP say the same on their own size guide, and on a two layer suit it is the difference between comfortable and borrowed.
The bit that actually catches people out: height
Chest gets all the attention and height causes all the trouble. Sparco cut to tight height bands, about 3cm each and no overlap: their 54 is drawn for a driver between 179 and 182cm. OMP bands are 10cm wide and overlap heavily, so their 54 covers 177 to 187cm.
If you are an average height for your chest, Sparco will fit you beautifully, arms and legs included, because they have cut it for exactly that. If you are tall and slim, or short and broad, Sparco will make you choose between a suit that fits your body and one that fits your limbs, and OMP will usually just fit. Garreth has watched this play out for years: the tall drivers nearly always end up in OMP, and nobody comes back unhappy about it.
The range ends matter too. On our shelves the Sparco suits most often run 48 to 66 and the OMP suits 46 to 64, so the very biggest drivers are a Sparco conversation and the very smallest are an OMP one, whatever the chest chart says.
Boots: genuinely interchangeable
Good news here. Sparco and OMP run the same ladder, and both publish the foot length each size is cut for. Across the whole range the two never disagree by more than three millimetres, so a 28.1cm foot is an EU 43 in either brand.
The trap is in the UK numbers. That ladder is a clean run of EU sizes with the UK equivalents converted off it, and the conversion is lumpy. There is no UK 6 and no UK 10 on either brand. So if you wear a UK 10 trainer and go hunting for a UK 10 boot, you will not find one, and the UK 10.5 you settle for is an EU 45, which may well be too big. Measure the foot, take the EU number, ignore what your trainers say.
Race boots are cut much closer than a trainer on a thin sole, and Nomex socks take up real room. Measure standing up, in the socks you drive in, and work from the bigger foot.
| EU | UK | Sparco foot length | OMP foot length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 7 | 27.0 cm | 27.0 cm |
| 42 | 8 | 27.7 cm | 27.5 cm |
| 43 | 9 | 28.3 cm | 28.1 cm |
| 44 | 9.5 | 29.0 cm | 28.7 cm |
| 45 | 10.5 | 29.6 cm | 29.5 cm |
| 46 | 11 | 30.3 cm | 30.2 cm |
The middle of the range, where most orders sit. The full ladder from EU 36 to 48, plus Sabelt, MOMO and Alpinestars, is on our racing boot size guide.
Gloves: the one that runs the other way
Gloves reverse the pattern, which surprises most people who have just got their head round the suits. OMP suits are cut a touch generous. OMP gloves are cut a touch tight. Up to medium the two brands are near enough identical, and from large upwards OMP letters cover a smaller hand than the Sparco equivalent.
| Letter | Sparco palm | OMP palm | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 21.5 - 22.5 cm | 21.6 - 22.3 cm | Same glove either way |
| M | 22.5 - 23.5 cm | 22.4 - 23.0 cm | Same to about 23cm |
| L | 23.5 - 24.5 cm | 23.1 - 23.7 cm | OMP L is the smaller glove |
| XL | 24.5 - 25.0 cm | 23.8 - 24.8 cm | OMP XL covers a Sparco L hand |
| XXL | 25.0 - 25.5 cm | 24.7 - 25.4 cm | Near enough the same again |
Palm measured round the knuckles, thumb left out. Bands from our racing glove size guide.
Worked through: a 24cm palm is a Sparco L and an OMP XL. A 23.3cm palm is a Sparco M and an OMP L. If you are moving from Sparco gloves to OMP and you are anywhere above a medium, the honest advice is to measure rather than assume, because one letter of glove is the difference between feeling the wheel and fighting it.
If you also wear Alpinestars, forget both of the above. Their letters sit roughly two steps down the same ladder, so a Sparco S is about an Alpinestars L. That comparison is laid out in full on the glove size guide.
How to measure, in about five minutes
Every number on this page is useless without your own measurements, and a tape is quicker than an exchange. Use a soft tape, keep it horizontal, and do not pull it tight. Cameron takes these over the phone all day.
- Chest, around the fullest part, under the armpits
- Waist, level with the navel, not where your jeans sit
- Inside leg, crotch to floor, standing straight with no shoes
- Foot, heel to longest toe, standing, in your Nomex socks
- Palm, round the knuckles with the thumb out of it
A pair from each shelf
Six examples, one Sparco and one OMP in each category, so you can see the sizing options on a real listing. The Sprint Advanced and the First Evo are both FIA 8856-2018 two layer suits and both sit at the sensible end of the money.
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From £327.00 Excl. VATKlarna ReadyTry in-storeSelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £423.00 Excl. VATKlarna ReadySelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £102.00 Excl. VAT0% pay-in-3Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £193.00 Excl. VAT0% pay-in-3Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £65.00 Excl. VAT0% pay-in-3Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £65.00 Excl. VAT0% pay-in-3Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Those six are examples off a much bigger shelf, picked to pair the brands up. The full ranges are under racing suits, racing boots and racing gloves, with the Nomex that goes under all of it in racing underwear. If you would rather buy the lot in one go, we build the suit, boots and gloves sets around both brands.
The questions that come with this one
My old suit has shrunk. Should I size up to be safe?
Do not assume either way. Take a fresh chest and waist measurement today and size off those numbers, because whatever has changed since the last suit, the tape will tell you and the old label will not. If the numbers have moved, the chart moves with them.
Does the number of layers change the size I need?
It changes how the same number feels. A three or four layer suit uses more of the room in the pattern than a two layer, so if you are between sizes on a heavier suit, go up. On a two layer you can size closer.
Do the women's suits use the same ladder?
They run 38 to 50 in both brands, but only Sparco publish a separate women’s chart with bust, waist and hips. OMP list the First Elle on the same ladder and then point you at a men’s block chart, which is not much help. Send us your bust, waist and height for an Elle and we will size it off those.
I am between sizes on boots. Up or down?
Down, in most cases, which is the opposite of the suit answer. A race boot is meant to be snug so you can feel the pedals through a thin sole, and it will give a little as the upper beds in. If the half size is the difference between two EU numbers though, ring us, because it depends on the model.
Does any of this apply to karting kit?
The principle does, the numbers do not. OMP publish a separate karting suit chart and it is cut differently from the racing one, so an OMP 52 kart suit and an OMP 52 race suit are not the same garment. Kart boots and gloves run their own ladders too. Tell us it is for karting when you ring and we will size it off the right chart.
Can I try things on before buying?
Yes, and for boots especially it is worth the trip. We are in Nottingham with the racewear on the shelf, so you can put a suit on over your own base layers and sit in a seat in it.
Have these ready when you ring
- Chest, waist and inside leg in centimetres, taken over your base layers
- Your height, and your weight if you know it
- Foot length in centimetres, and the socks you measured in
- Palm measurement round the knuckles
- The brand and size of anything you already own that fits you well
Chest, waist, inside leg and height, taken over your base layers, and Cameron will confirm the size in either brand before you order. Cheaper for everyone than an exchange, and it takes about two minutes.
