diff --git a/spring-boot-actuator/pom.xml b/spring-boot-actuator/pom.xml
index f7641cacbe..5ab4246447 100644
--- a/spring-boot-actuator/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-actuator/pom.xml
@@ -307,11 +307,6 @@
 			<artifactId>json-path</artifactId>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-			<scope>test</scope>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
 			<artifactId>aspectjrt</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-dependencies/pom.xml b/spring-boot-dependencies/pom.xml
index b11d32ad23..9b02e93a66 100644
--- a/spring-boot-dependencies/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-dependencies/pom.xml
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@
 		<thymeleaf-layout-dialect.version>1.4.0</thymeleaf-layout-dialect.version>
 		<thymeleaf-extras-data-attribute.version>1.3</thymeleaf-extras-data-attribute.version>
 		<thymeleaf-extras-java8time.version>2.1.0.RELEASE</thymeleaf-extras-java8time.version>
-		<tomcat.version>8.5.3</tomcat.version>
+		<tomcat.version>8.5.4</tomcat.version>
 		<undertow.version>1.3.23.Final</undertow.version>
 		<velocity.version>1.7</velocity.version>
 		<velocity-tools.version>2.0</velocity-tools.version>
@@ -1334,11 +1334,6 @@
 				<artifactId>tomcat-jsp-api</artifactId>
 				<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
 			</dependency>
-			<dependency>
-				<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-				<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-				<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
-			</dependency>
 			<dependency>
 				<groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
 				<artifactId>velocity</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-devtools/pom.xml b/spring-boot-devtools/pom.xml
index a559823b17..cfba6a86a2 100644
--- a/spring-boot-devtools/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-devtools/pom.xml
@@ -117,11 +117,6 @@
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-core</artifactId>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-			<scope>test</scope>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.eclipse.jetty.websocket</groupId>
 			<artifactId>websocket-client</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-docs/pom.xml b/spring-boot-docs/pom.xml
index 1be05ea19f..f347ef3c01 100644
--- a/spring-boot-docs/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-docs/pom.xml
@@ -299,11 +299,6 @@
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
 			<optional>true</optional>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-			<optional>true</optional>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
 			<artifactId>tomcat-jdbc</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
index 0696db8b4c..56ad5472cf 100644
--- a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
+++ b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
@@ -884,18 +884,17 @@ add a listener to the `Builder`:
 
 
 [[howto-use-tomcat-7]]
-=== Use Tomcat 7
-Tomcat 7 works with Spring Boot, but the default is to use Tomcat 8. If you cannot use
-Tomcat 8 (for example, because you are using Java 1.6) you will need to change your
-classpath to reference Tomcat 7 .
+=== Use Tomcat 7.x or 8.0
+Tomcat 7 & 8.0 work with Spring Boot, but the default is to use Tomcat 8.5. If you cannot
+use Tomcat 8.5 (for example, because you are using Java 1.6) you will need to change your
+classpath to reference a different version.
 
 
 
-==== Use Tomcat 7 with Maven
 [[howto-use-tomcat-7-maven]]
-
-If you are using the starters and parent you can just change the Tomcat version
-property, e.g. for a simple webapp or service:
+==== Use Tomcat 7.x or 8.0 with Maven
+If you are using the starters and parent you can change the Tomcat version property
+and additionally import `tomcat-juli`. E.g. for a simple webapp or service:
 
 [source,xml,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
 ----
@@ -908,22 +907,28 @@ property, e.g. for a simple webapp or service:
 			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
 			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
+			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
+			<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
+		</dependency>
 		...
 	</dependencies>
 ----
 
 
 
-==== Use Tomcat 7 with Gradle
+==== Use Tomcat 7.x or 8.0 with Gradle
 [[howto-use-tomcat-7-gradle]]
-
-You can change the Tomcat version by setting the `tomcat.version` property:
+With Gradle, you can change the Tomcat version by setting the `tomcat.version` property
+and then additionally include `tomcat-juli`:
 
 [source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
 ----
 	ext['tomcat.version'] = '7.0.59'
 	dependencies {
 		compile 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
+		compile group:'org.apache.tomcat', name:'tomcat-juli', version:property('tomcat.version')
 	}
 ----
 
diff --git a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-actuator/build.gradle b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-actuator/build.gradle
index 6413d1c946..2eb7e260f8 100644
--- a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-actuator/build.gradle
+++ b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-actuator/build.gradle
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ apply plugin: 'eclipse'
 apply plugin: 'idea'
 apply plugin: 'spring-boot'
 
+ext['h2.version'] = '1.4.192'
+
 jar {
 	baseName = 'spring-boot-sample-actuator'
 }
@@ -45,7 +47,7 @@ dependencies {
 	compile("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-jdbc")
 	compile("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-security")
 	compile("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web")
-	compile("com.h2database:h2")
+	compile group:"com.h2database", name:"h2", version:property('h2.version')
 
 	testCompile("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test")
 
@@ -64,4 +66,4 @@ task wrapper(type: Wrapper) {
 
 springBoot {
 	buildInfo()
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat-jsp/pom.xml b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat-jsp/pom.xml
index 0fe62952f9..c09885658b 100644
--- a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat-jsp/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat-jsp/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 	<properties>
 		<main.basedir>${basedir}/../..</main.basedir>
 		<m2eclipse.wtp.contextRoot>/</m2eclipse.wtp.contextRoot>
-		<tomcat.version>7.0.69</tomcat.version>
 	</properties>
 	<dependencies>
 		<dependency>
diff --git a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-jsp/pom.xml b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-jsp/pom.xml
index 42671a919f..bd513401eb 100644
--- a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-jsp/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-jsp/pom.xml
@@ -31,6 +31,12 @@
 			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-tomcat</artifactId>
 			<scope>provided</scope>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
+			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
+			<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
+			<scope>provided</scope>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-ssl/pom.xml b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-ssl/pom.xml
index 8796da6189..5b360cc16f 100644
--- a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-ssl/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat7-ssl/pom.xml
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@
 			<groupId>org.apache.httpcomponents</groupId>
 			<artifactId>httpclient</artifactId>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
+			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
+			<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
 			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat80-ssl/pom.xml b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat80-ssl/pom.xml
index b2a4f802ff..b27d943bd3 100644
--- a/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat80-ssl/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-samples/spring-boot-sample-tomcat80-ssl/pom.xml
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@
 			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
+			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
+			<version>${tomcat.version}</version>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.yaml</groupId>
 			<artifactId>snakeyaml</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-starters/spring-boot-starter-tomcat/pom.xml b/spring-boot-starters/spring-boot-starter-tomcat/pom.xml
index 7f8388079e..56f49c1fdc 100644
--- a/spring-boot-starters/spring-boot-starter-tomcat/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-starters/spring-boot-starter-tomcat/pom.xml
@@ -27,10 +27,6 @@
 			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-el</artifactId>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-websocket</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot-test/pom.xml b/spring-boot-test/pom.xml
index 067563b234..3e147e3913 100644
--- a/spring-boot-test/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot-test/pom.xml
@@ -111,11 +111,6 @@
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-core</artifactId>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-			<scope>test</scope>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
 			<artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-boot/pom.xml b/spring-boot/pom.xml
index a6c8e35209..65b43c89c4 100644
--- a/spring-boot/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-boot/pom.xml
@@ -109,11 +109,6 @@
 			<artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
 			<optional>true</optional>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
-			<artifactId>tomcat-juli</artifactId>
-			<optional>true</optional>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.velocity</groupId>
 			<artifactId>velocity</artifactId>