McLaughlin and Coulthard have been dominant in the Shell V-Power Fords all season as their DJR Team Penske team has made great use of the 2017 Dunlop tyre.
But while McLaughlin takes an 84-point championship lead into the event, his team will need to find the right set-up for the 2016 tyre, which will be used at Bathurst this year.
Tyre blowouts have plagued the championship this year as teams have tried to put as much camber on as possible to make the car go faster but that puts extra pressure on the tyre, resulting in sporadic failures.
A decision was made to revert to the older tyre at high speed venues such as Bathurst and Pukekohe and that could be an advantage for van Gisbergen and title contender Jamie Whincup at Red Bull Holden Racing, who proved the team to beat last year.
Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell were in a fight at the front of the field when a tyre blowout dropped them back and cost them a chance at winning three weeks ago at Sandown. Team-mate van Gisbergen also had a tyre failure late in the race, ruining his chances of collecting points.
"We have no excuses with Sandown. We showed some great pace and pushed pretty hard," Whincup said.
Murphy doesn't think the tyre change will have much of an impact at the front of the field but can see it having an effect on the race.
"I don't see it being a big deal for the top guys because they have got a lot of good information anyway," he said.
