Every FIA suit we sell is sized on the European ladder, 44 up to 66 for men and 38 up to 50 for women. A 52 at Sparco, OMP and Alpinestars covers roughly the same chest measurement. The body cut around that chest is different at each of them, and that is where most of the wrong orders come from.
Measure these five first
Use a soft tape, keep it horizontal, and do not pull it tight. Measure over the fireproof underwear you actually drive in. OMP say the same on their own guide, and it makes a real difference on a two layer suit.
AChestAround the fullest part, under the armpits.
BWaistAround your natural waist, level with the navel.
CHipsAround the fullest part, roughly 20 cm below the waist.
DInside legCrotch to floor, standing straight, no shoes.
EHeightAgainst a wall, floor to the top of your head, no shoes.
Your size in all three brands
Find your chest measurement in the left column. The height beside each size is what that brand cuts the suit for, which matters more than it looks.
The chest bands do not line up perfectly between brands. OMP set theirs about a centimetre higher than Sparco, so if your chest lands right on a boundary, read your own number off that brand’s full chart below rather than off this row.
The bit that catches people out: height
All three brands agree on the chest to within a centimetre or so. They do not agree on how tall the person wearing that chest is meant to be, and the gap grows as the sizes go up.
From size 46 upwards Alpinestars add roughly a centimetre of height per size step over Sparco, on almost identical chest measurements. So a 106 cm chest at 180 cm tall is a Sparco 54. The same chest at 185 cm is an Alpinestars 54, and a Sparco 54 on that driver will fit across the body with short arms and legs.
OMP sit outside this argument. Their height bands are 10 cm wide and overlap heavily, so height barely narrows the choice. Pick an OMP suit on chest and waist and treat the height column as a sanity check.
If you are tall and slim, or short and broadThese are the two builds the standard ladder handles worst, because the charts assume height and girth move together. Sparco run a made to measure programme for exactly this. Send us your chest, waist, height and inside leg and we will tell you whether an off the shelf size will do or whether tailored is the sensible route.
Full charts by brand
All measurements in centimetres, weight in kilograms. These are the manufacturers’ own published charts.
SparcoMen 44 to 66. Read the height column, Sparco size on it as much as on the chest.▼
The waist steps unevenly between 48 and 52 on Sparco’s own chart, so check the waist column as well as the chest through that part of the range.
Sparco LadyWomen 38 to 50, with the UK and US equivalents.▼
OMPMen 42 to 64. The widest size range we stock, and the most forgiving on height.▼
AlpinestarsMen 40 to 66. Cut for a taller driver than Sparco at the same chest.▼
Suits sized S to XXL instead
Single layer suits and mechanics suits, including the OMP OS10 and the Sparco Martini Racing mechanics suit, skip the numeric ladder. Sparco group their own chart like this, and it is the mapping we use:
Women’s suits
The Sparco Competition Lady and the OMP First Elle are both cut for a female body and both run 38 to 50, but only Sparco publish a separate women’s chart. OMP list the First Elle on a 38 to 50 ladder and then point you at their standard racing suit chart, which is a men’s block. For the Elle, send us your bust, waist and height and we will size it from those rather than guess off the wrong chart.
What changes the size you need
Layers
A two layer suit and a four layer suit in the same nominal size do not feel the same. The heavier the construction, the more of the room in the pattern the suit itself takes up. If you are between sizes on a three or four layer suit, go up.
What you wear underneath
FIA underwear is a full extra layer top and bottom. Measuring in a t-shirt and then pulling the suit on over a Nomex top and long johns is the most common reason a suit that should have fitted does not.
The car
A suit that fits standing up can still bind in a fixed back bucket with a six point harness done up. If you sit low with your knees up, the inside leg and the crotch matter more than the chest. Worth saying when you ring, because it can push the recommendation a size either way.
Between two sizes?Go up rather than down. A suit slightly loose across the chest still drives fine. One that is tight across the shoulders pulls every time you turn the wheel, and you will notice it by the third lap.
Want us to check it before you order?Send your chest, waist, height and inside leg with the suit you are looking at and we will confirm the size. Cheaper for everyone than an exchange. Call 0115 989 3488 or email Sales@GSMPerformance.co.uk.
Charts taken from the manufacturers’ own published data, checked 2 August 2026. Sparco from sparco-official.com. OMP from the size chart on their First Evo product page. Alpinestars from the size guide on their GP Race V3 product page. Manufacturers revise these, so if a chart on a suit box disagrees with this page, the box wins and we would like to know.