I got the dubious pleasure of changing my second tire in as many weeks – on the way home from my in-laws last weekend my wife ran over something on the highway. The tire went flat almost instantly, and later inspection revealed a hole in the (aluminum alloy) wheel itself. Fun times.
I’m writing this post because I learned the hard way that aluminum alloy wheels can get good and stuck on the lugs. I didn’t know this at the time and we spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out why the wheel wouldn’t come off the lugs even after jacking up the car and removing all the lugnuts. Turns out that you usually have to give the tire a good solid kick or two to break free from the lugs. Thankfully a police officer happened to drive by and lend a hand (well, a foot) by kicking the tire a few times and popping it loose.
So, if anyone else has trouble getting the tire off their car (in our case, a 2004 Honda Civic Ex, for those playing the Google home-game), try raising the car up on the jack and giving it some good kicks. Recommended course would be to stand with your back to the car and smack your heel back on the bottom part of the tire/wheel until it pops loose.
