Chnging a tire

You may just need to bang on it. Seriously, sometimes tires can stick to the lugs even when the nuts are off, and taking a big hammer to the area around the lugs, being careful not to hit the lugs themselves and damage threads, is the easiest way to get them off. You can also try hitting the tire but you don't want to bounce the hammer off and dent the fender.

Your solution is correct but the difficulty, I found out, is that the aluminum alloy wheels form such a tight bond that they tend to semi-adhere to the opposite side after a number of miles. (I found this out by speaking to a gentleman in the Mazda Service Department. I asked, "You mean I actually need a bigger hammer?" and he answered in the affirmative.) It took a bit of pounding by hitting the backside of the wheel, rotating it a hit, another hit, another slight rotation and so on for more than two full revolutions before it slipped loose. Thanks for your response. I still feel like an idiot but a slightly lesser one. Happy motoring! -Carsinogen-